


first rule of conventions...

by Skyson



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Conventions, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Mace x Daisy, Mutual Pining, QuakePatriot, Secret Relationship, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-16 06:01:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 33,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15430542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyson/pseuds/Skyson
Summary: ... Don't talk about what happens at conventions.Or, alternatively, post it online.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Though I was too busy to post beforehand, this one is in honor of SDCC weekend, and J.O. being able to attend for the first time in about a decade - a story that I've been working on periodically for what also feels like a decade, haha. Fic originally inspired by the following prompt:
> 
> "Otpisms" on Tumblr OTP Prompt #887: “Imagine Person A and Person B are both somewhat famous people at a convention. The two are both fans of the other but have never actually met, and they both think the other person is too cool for them. When the two accidentally bump into each other, they both start freaking out and then start trying to act cool so they can impress the other person...”

Jeffrey paced back and forth across his hotel room, running through the basics of what he would say whenever somebody would bring up the new agreement. He fiddled with his tie as he walked blindly; he’d made this path enough times already that he didn’t need to pay attention to where he was stepping.

“Rolling Stones?” Mackenzie questioned, stepping into the room and leaning casually against the door once it closed behind him.

“Helps me relax,” Jeffrey muttered distractedly as Mick Jagger demanded somebody to guess his name. Mack sent him a dubious look, which he ignored, and he released a calming breath as he straightened his shoulders and smoothed down his tie. “How do I look?” He asked the lead of his protection unit.

“You look fine, Director. Come on, you know this stuff like the back of your hand. You won’t be saying anything new to you.” Mack pointed out.

“This is the real deal, now.” Jeffrey looked at him with wide eyes. “I’ve spent _years_  arguing for this. Now that it’s actually happening…” He trailed off, glancing in the mirror over the dresser one last time.

“You don’t know how to celebrate?” Mack guessed, and Jeffrey made a hand gesture that indicated the man was half-correct.

“It’ll be fine. Remember, you aren’t the only bigwig that’s gonna be here. Just feel the room and take it as it goes. You’re great at this stuff, Mace.” Mack encouraged him, stepping to the side and opening the door for him, and Jeffrey moved to turn off his speaker system and tucked his iPhone into his pocket.

“Right. Yeah.” Jeffrey swallowed and breathed out forcefully one last time before stepping out of the hotel room.

“Besides,” Mack grinned as he closed the door and stepped beside his boss. “I hear Quake is making an appearance. Maybe you’ll get a photo.”

“Oh geez, I _wish_ ,” Jeffrey sighed. He quickly grew serious again, however, and asked, “How’s the lobby?”

“There are a few stragglers according to Phil, but, nothing too hassling. Most of the crowd is already at the convention center.” Mack answered, and Jeffrey relaxed significantly.

“Oh, good, Phil’s riding with us?” He’d assumed his right-hand-man would meet them at the building. He’d driven his own car into the city, anyway; _he_  had his freedom for the weekend. For the most part.

“10-4,” Mack replied casually, and Jeffrey rolled his eyes.

“You know I don’t understand half of those codes you two use,” He complained good-naturedly. Phil used to have a job very much like Mack’s, so the two of them got along like two peas in a pod - and frequently spoke in code just to annoy Jeffrey.

“Everyone knows what 10-4 means.” Mack returned, his tone nonchalant.

While they were in the elevator, Jeffrey took a quick photo of himself making a dorky, excited expression with a tag line that mentioned being on the way to the convention, and presented it to Mack before posting it online.

“You know Phil’s better at that stuff than I am,” Mack grouched, but shrugged and nodded toward the phone. “I guess it’s alright. You don’t look _too_  ridiculous.”

“Phil says they like it when I appear more relaxed and friendly,” Jeffrey protested, and Mack rolled his eyes.

“You’re inherently friendly, Mace. I don’t know how you’re actually so good with the governors and the senators because you are the most honest politician I’ve ever met.” Mack informed him.

“I’m the Director of SHIELD, not a politician.” Jeffrey corrected, and Mack shrugged.

“Semantics. You work in politics.”

“I was a reporter before this,” Jeffrey reminded him, and he groaned under his breath.

“Speaking of, you need to keep up with your physical training. It’d make my job a heck of a lot easier.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jeffrey rocked forward on his toes as the elevator finally neared the ground floor. He’d rather not think about his abysmal talents in the training room right now. He was physically fit, sure - he used to play football after all - but knowing how to fight was something else entirely. Something he wasn’t exactly swimming in natural talent with.

“Hey,” Phil was waiting for them in the lobby, his sunglasses still over his eyes.

The black suit and tie helped, but he was somebody who always looked like a secret agent, even when he wasn’t technically one anymore. It wasn't common knowledge that other parts of his current job included helping security to protect Jeffrey, and helping Jeffrey with the tactical decisions that involved being the Director of SHIELD.

“Ready to go?” Phil asked, then immediately followed with a question toward Mack, “Was he listening to Sympathy for the Devil when you went in there?”

“Yeah.”

“Hey,”

“No need to be nervous, Jeff.” Phil smiled and clasped his hand over his shoulder for a moment. “This is par for the course! There are just a few more fans involved this time, and a few less suits.”

“You two know me entirely too well.” Jeffrey muttered, and they both chuckled as they led the way out of the building.

It had rained all day the day before, but today was bright and sunny, and Jeffery appreciated the excuse to slip his sunglasses on. Mack had been right about one thing (he was usually right, honestly, Jeffrey couldn’t deny that) - Jeffrey had a bad habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve. He’d gotten better at it since he’d been “drafted” into the job, but just like self-defense training, it was a work in progress. The sunglasses would help portray stoicism.

“Did you hear Daisy Johnson is going to be around?” Phil chatted with Mack while the three of them slid into the back of the SUV that would take them from the hotel to the convention center.

“It’s pretty big news. This’ll be the first time she’s actually available to officially interview.” Mack replied.

“You think she will? Her podcasts are awesome, but she’s pretty tight-lipped when it comes to the big news channels.”

“For good reason,” Jeffrey pointed out. “The big channels are all annoying as fuck.”

“Maybe watch the language when we get there? People of all ages are attending this thing.” Phil chided lightly.

“ _Yes_ , dear,” Jeffrey rolled his eyes, and Mack chuckled at their antics.  
  


**———**

 

The morning started off rather calmly; after receiving bottled water and a list of the day’s events from one of the organization members, Jeffrey and his team met up with General Talbot and his right-hand, Melinda May, well-known badass. Jeffrey was more terrified of her than he was of the General, and Talbot was the one who’d strong-armed him into the job of Director. Her sense of humor was sarcastic and she put up with zero sass, even from Talbot - and she always looked at Jeffrey as if she thought he was just a kid playing dress-up.

Not that she wasn’t respectful of his job position. But Jeffrey always felt the need to be on his very best behavior when she was around, lest he get his ass handed to him.

This conference was more than just the usual Inhuman Symposium - there were also more casual discussions going on throughout the day, where anyone (who bought a ticket to attend) would be able to participate, listen, and ask questions. There were even a few pro-Inhuman vendors selling their wares out on the main floor, where people could congregate while they waited for the next meeting, or meander around and get to know one another.

Security was extremely tight for the event - this many Inhuman sympathizers under one roof was the proverbial gold mine for hate groups like The Watchdogs, or what was left of Hydra, and people weren’t taking any chances here. Frankly, Jeffrey was surprised to see that Talbot only seemed to have May at his back (though Jeffrey knew that one of her was more than enough to combat an army of Watchdogs).

“Director,” Talbot greeted stoically, shaking Jeffrey’s hand.

“General,” Jeffrey nodded, and once that formality was over Talbot sighed heavily and grimaced as he glanced around.

“People are wearing costumes.” He hissed, as if that appalled him. Jeffrey raised his eyebrow.

“Well, with the work Quake has been doing, plus once Stark and Rogers teamed up with her a few times, people see her - and a lot of the Inhumans we’re working with - as superheroes.”

“Shit - I knew _Quake_  before she even had a _badge_ ,” Talbot huffed, but there was a look in his eyes that almost seemed pleased. Jeffrey startled.

“A badge?” He repeated, glancing at Phil, who shrugged and slipped his hands into his pockets. His sunglasses were still on for public anonymity reasons, so Jeffrey couldn’t read his expression well.

“At least she got her shit together after those rebellious months. Anyway,” Talbot changed the subject, “Schedules are tight but we want a photo op. The two of you in a room together? The media will _shit_.”

Phil cleared his throat and Talbot momentarily looked mildly apologetic.

“You mean it’s actually planned? I’m gonna meet Daisy?” Jeffrey couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice. She was easily one of the top three on his list of inspirational people, especially when it came to his stance on Inhuman rights.

She was also on his list of “If I Could Have Dinner With Any 5 People In All of History”, but he didn’t share that information publicly.

Actually, he didn’t share how much he admired her publicly, either, but it was probably still rather obvious. Being the Director of SHIELD, he was frequently asked his opinion on her antics, and he was quite often supportive of her. He always tried to keep it professional, though.

“You might. It’s not set in stone; like I said, busy weekend ahead of us. Speaking of which - I’ve got to be in Hall G in five minutes. Where the hell is that, anyway?” Talbot started to walk off, and May sent them a wry smirk before she caught him and turned him around, leading him in the correct direction.

“Alright, where do we need to be?” Jeffrey asked, and Phil gestured around.

“Here in the main floor for an hour and a half. How do you feel about photos and autographs?”

“Uh,” Jeffrey pursed his lips, “you know how I feel about that stuff.”

“You’re inspirational, too, you know.” Phil told him not for the first time, and Jeffrey shrugged it off.

“I’m just a guy who wears a fancy suit sometimes, I’m not,”

“Iron Man wears a suit, too, remember,” Mack pointed out.

“Iron Man is an Avenger.” Jeffrey said as if it needed reminding.

“Dude, Captain America himself approves of you. Gave you your name!” Phil geeked out, also not for the first time.

“Alright Mace, time to put on the face.” Mack warned as more people began to trickle in through the main doors. The rhyming thing was his little joke, but it wasn’t untrue.

Jeffrey tilted his head to crack his neck, squared his shoulders, and smiled genially when a small group passing them hesitated and recognized him.

Time to be The Patriot.  
  


**———**

 

Jeffrey ended up enjoying that first day immensely, although he was bone-deep exhausted by the time they returned to the hotel that night. He’d been both encouraged and humbled by the people he spoke with - getting to hear the views and opinions from the general public was a nice reprieve from the tepid acceptance he tended to receive from other government officials.

He also got meet quite a few of his social media followers face-to-face, some of which he recognized. He made sure to post often - but not too often - while he was there, and even got to take a few photos with some guys who’d made costumes that looked like his Patriot suit.

“Okay, that was kind of cool.” Jeffrey sighed as he fell back onto his mattress, pulling loose his tie. “You don’t get people dressing up at any of our other symposiums!”

“That’s because this isn’t technically a symposium,” Phil replied as he removed his jacket and tossed it onto the other bed in the room. “If this becomes an annual thing, they should really look into changing the name. Make it more obviously open to the public.”

“There were people dressed like me!” Jeffrey exclaimed, and Phil smiled down at him warmly.

“Told you you were inspirational.” Phil said smugly, removing his tie and dropping it on top of his jacket.

“And so many Quake’s! How will I recognize the real Daisy, if I meet her?” Jeffrey wondered, pushing himself up onto one elbow, and Phil’s smile grew a little more wistful.

“You’ll know.” He assured him, and not for the first time Jeffrey was hit with the sense that Phil knew her more than he let on. Reminded of Talbot’s comment this morning, Jeffrey tried to dig in a little bit.

“Glenn said that she’d had a badge? Did she used to be a cop?” Jeffrey asked, catching the look that Mack gave Phil. Apparently he knew more than he let on, too. “Come on, I’ve been the Director for two years and you guys _still_  don’t trust me with stuff?”

“It’s not that we don’t trust you,” Mack quickly corrected. “It’s that this is highly classified.”

“Director of SHIELD,” Jeffrey reminded, pointing at his own chest.

“It’s not public knowledge, or even government knowledge, but, Daisy used to be one of us.” Phil informed him, and Jeffrey blinked in surprise.

“What?”

“She wasn’t even Daisy, back then. It was before she knew that she was Inhuman - before any of us knew about Inhumans.” Phil was doing all of the talking, so Jeffrey narrowed his eyes toward him mostly.

“When you were an active agent?” Jeffrey guessed, and he nodded.

“When he was Director, too.” Mack commented, and Jeffrey sat up completely, sitting forward on the edge of his mattress.

“You were _what_?” Jeffrey exclaimed, and Phil’s face confirmed Mack’s words. “You - what, why do I not - _how_  do I not know,”

“The world considers Phil Coulson K.I.A. I decided to keep it that way.” Phil explained succinctly, and Jeffrey just blinked at him.

“I don’t even know where to begin,”

“It’s a really long story,” Phil admitted, “and I’d really not like to get into it right now.”

Jeffrey stared at him for another moment, but eventually nodded, and agreed to file this new information away for the time being.

“No wonder you’re so damn good being my co-Director.” Jeffrey muttered, put-out that he’d been kept out of the loop. Phil’s smile was apologetic, but he continued discussing Daisy,

“I was her commanding officer for a few years. We were…” His face did something weird that Jeffrey didn’t often see, and he glanced toward Mack for explanation.

“They were pretty tight.” Mack shrugged, answering Jeff’s silent question carefully. Phil nodded in agreement with the assessment.

“She’s one of the closest people I’ve ever had to having a family, especially after… in recent years.” Phil spoke like it wasn’t a big deal, but Jeffrey could tell that it was a pretty big deal for him. “As you know, before you came along SHIELD had gone through some, uh, rough patches.”

Jeffrey’s chuckle held no humor.

“Rough patches.” He repeated. “Yeah.”

Everyone knew about the Triskelion falling, of course; and the supposed death of Fury, and then Hydra, and then SHIELD going defunct entirely (while actually becoming more of a black-ops organization for a bit). Jeffrey knew about the internal power struggle while SHIELD tried to rise from the ashes, but he’d had no idea who was actually involved. He’d figured it’d been Fury, at least - he was still deep within his journalist’s world, then, and the Sokovia Accords had been much more prevalent at the time. He hadn’t paid close attention to SHIELD, at least not until after Vienna, and after Talbot approached him with a proposition.

Phil had been around immediately since Jeffrey officially moved into HQ, but Jeffrey’d had _no_  idea about Phil’s past within SHIELD. As far as he knew, Phil had once been an active field agent and after a serious injury he was relegated to “quieter” jobs.

And there was definitely nothing in his files regarding Daisy Johnson as a field agent - he would know. One of the first things he’d done as Director was look up what details SHIELD had on the Inhuman.

“You had her files secured even more once my position as Director was finalized, didn’t you.” Jeffrey realized, and Phil nodded.

“As you well know, you were brought on at a time the public and media were in an absolute frenzy over Inhumans. Daisy was still fairly rogue, then, too. I knew you would’ve probably felt forced to go after her, to bring her in, if you knew she was affiliated with SHIELD. I didn’t want either of you in that position.” Phil smirked a little. “Especially once I realized just how much of a fanboy you turn into about her.”

“Hey!” Jeffrey protested. “Don’t even talk - need I remind you who was the guy who got those cards of yours signed for you?”

Mack snorted, and Phil blushed.

“Anyway,” Phil pointedly tried to keep on the subject at hand, “it’s another long story, but the short of it is yes - Daisy was a SHIELD agent.” He paused, then added, “Technically still is. I never actually put her in inactive status.”

“Have you been working with her under my nose this entire time?” Jeffrey wondered, more jealous than he was angry.

“No, no,” Phil assured him, “She’s doing her own thing. Has been for a while. And the good that she’s doing… I figured she’ll come back when she feels it’s necessary.”

“You trust her that much?” Jeffrey wondered, and Mack was the one who answered immediately,

“Yes, he does.” Phil blushed again, but Mack continued, “She’s good people. It’s not just an act for the public, you know. She really does want the best for everyone.”

“She’d like you,” Phil admitted, “The fact that you fight so hard for the Inhumans. For equality. You both are basically doing the same thing,” Jeffrey nodded, agreeing with him on that note.

“Just on different sides of the coin.” He finished, inwardly doing a little happy jig at the idea that Daisy approved of what he was doing. He apparently didn’t hide his expression well enough, though, because Phil laughed at him.

“Just try not to be so obvious if the two of you _do_  meet, okay?” Phil teased, making Mack snort again, and Jeffrey frowned at the both of them.

“Stop making fun of your boss.” He grumbled, beginning to remove his jacket, and they both cheekily responded in unison,

“Yes, sir.”  
  


**———**

 

“I can't believe I'm doing this.” Daisy muttered as she twisted and turned, looking at herself in the full-length mirror to make sure her dress looked alright. It was casual, but it was still a far cry from what she'd gotten used to wearing lately.

“You look _hot_ , chica,” Elena assured her, sharing a grin with their compatriot, Joey. He nodded vehemently in agreement.

“If you were my type, I'd totally ask for your number.”

“Thanks, you two.” Daisy replied dryly, rolling her eyes fondly. She pursed her lips at her reflection, smiling a little at what she saw. She almost looked like the Daisy of the old days - back before she became Quake. “I don't want to be _hot_ , though; I want to be _approachable_.”

“You'll be fine,” Joey assured her, pulling out his phone when it sounded a notification. “Think of it as a face-to-face podcast. Besides, you've interviewed people before.”

“Yeah - I wasn't the one being interviewed.” Daisy let her nervousness slip a little more openly in front of her two friends. They were some of the closest people in her life, so they tended to see more of her true emotions than anyone else.

Sometimes she just needed to take a break from being Quake, and these two were always great about helping her sneak out to the local burger joint, or hang out and play video games with her late into the night.

“Heyyy, look who just posted on Twitter!” Joey smiled widely as he turned his phone out toward Daisy so she could see the screen. It was a tweet with a photo that included the tag used for the convention this week, and Daisy couldn't help but smirk at the expression on the man’s face. Joey’s completely open fawning over it was also pretty amusing.

“Do I need to call Kevin and tell him you're going goo-goo-eyed over another man?” Daisy teased, and Joey scoffed.

“Kevin and I have an agreement. Mace is my hall pass!” Joey protested, and Elena laughed.

“When Kevin made that agreement, did he know how likely it was for you to actually _meet_  Jeffrey Mace?” Elena joked, adding something in Spanish that Daisy didn't follow.

Joey pouted and said something else that made Elena laugh again.

“Come on, guys - you know I haven't picked up _that_  much Spanish, yet.” Daisy complained light-heartedly, and Elena patted her shoulder.

“You're doing better.” She assured her.

“Anyway, this event is pretty big. The odds of us actually running into him are pretty slim,” Daisy informed them, and Joey made a hesitant gesture.

“Not if this proposed photo shoot works out.” He reminded her, scrolling through his phone to check the schedule again.

“Photo shoot?” Daisy repeated. “Are you kidding me?” She grinned widely. “Oh man, that would be _perfect_  for the blog!”

“That's why I've agreed to it.” Joey smirked at her. “If the timing works, you'll more than likely be meeting him tomorrow. And who knows, you might run into him today.” Joey shrugged, and Daisy shook her head.

“One thing at a time, Joey. This will be the first time I'm seeing some of my followers face-to-face, and not as a quick pass-by on the street. I've got to keep myself in check about what I'm saying pretty much at all times.”

“I agree,” Elena nodded seriously, “This won't be scripted. Don't get too excited and give away future plans.”

“Have I ever?” Daisy scoffed.

“You're going to be in _the same building_  at the _same time_  as The Patriot.” Joey reminded her wryly. “I remember what you were like when you met Iron Man for the first time.”

“Hey, I was younger then.” Daisy protested, leading the way out of their hotel room and toward the elevators. Both of her friends made dubious noises, not hiding the sounds under their breaths whatsoever.  
  


**———**

 

The place was more crowded than she expected, but she was offered a bit of anonymity since she hadn't arrived in her well-known Quake gear.

At least, for the first half hour or so.

All of the questions and the photos and the autographs were a bit overwhelming, but Daisy managed to settle in and keep her cool. A lot of people were curious about her future plans, but she was careful to keep things vague while hopefully interesting. Joey kept telling her it seemed every five minutes that her next podcast was going to have so many new listeners.

It was interesting being a part of a big question-and-answer panel, along with a few other spokespeople and bloggers. She could tell that a couple of the government reps weren't sure what to think of her, but everyone was polite, and she'd take what she could get.

Curiously, there wasn't a SHIELD representative at the panel, though she figured perhaps there was another one that had conflicted with the timing.

She swore she saw Coulson a couple of times, but she found it hard to believe he would come to an event like this, especially considering he wasn't supposed to be in the public eye. She chalked it up to all the suits hanging around in the dark corners.

She had to admit that she was impressed with the security measures they had implemented for this thing. She'd bet money that General Talbot was involved with that, and she smirked at the imagery that produced as he would no doubt be walking around with his panties in a twist during the entire conference.

A lot of people were asking for her to use her powers, too, but there were pretty strict guidelines about Inhumans using their gifts - no matter what they were - while they were in the building. Apparently a team of scientists had created a bunch of these little flying drone things that kept an eye things and could register and “safely” detain any user - dwarves, she thinks they’re called. A weird name, but then again, she hadn’t yet met a scientist who wasn’t a little eccentric. As long as it was truly a safe detainment, then she would choose not to have a problem with it. While she never liked the idea of Big Brother Always Watching, it begrudgingly made some sense - this many people in one building, it would be too easy to accidentally hurt someone, whether there was intention or not.

All in all, by the end of the day, Daisy was already hoping that there would be another one of these next year.  
  


**———**

 

Dreadfully needing to relax and veg out by the time they returned to their hotel room, Daisy forwent the podcast idea for tonight and decided to make a short video instead.

“Hey guys,” She smiled tiredly into the camera, “Back at the hotel now and _woo_! That was… amazing. I met a lot of you on the floor today and I know I thanked you then, but seriously - you guys are the best. _Thank_   _you_  for continuing to stick with me, support me, support all of us,” She spoke of Inhumans in general. “I am _beat_  but I promise I’ll be back tomorrow, and there will be a more detailed podcast following the conference at the end of the week. And dudes - ” She made a more serious, sincere expression, “I am amazed and humbled by these costumes. Who knew that the girl who used to cosplay as Iron Man now has people cosplaying as her?!” She winced and smiled embarrassingly. “Yeah, you heard that… I used to dress up as Iron Man.” She pointed at the camera. “Don’t let that go to your head, Tony!”

Joey was on the phone with somebody, and he looked over and gestured for her to wrap up her video.

“Anyway, before I give away something even _more_  embarrassing, I’m gonna - ”

“Like your swooning over The Patriot?!” Elena called from across the room, loud enough for the camera to pick up. Daisy didn’t quite manage to hide her blush as she forcefully continued,

“I’m gonna hit the hay! Peace!” She quickly ended the video before Elena could add in anything else. “Jerk.” Daisy threw over her shoulder as she prepared the video to post on her Twitter account.

“Not my fault you make it obvious.” Elena shrugged, smiling. “How many times has someone asked your opinion on him today?”

“That’s nothing new,” Daisy scoffed, waving her hand in the air as she slid her phone onto the bedside table.

“This is.” Joey had ended his phone call and pulled up YouTube, passing his phone over to Daisy so she could watch the video he’d found. Elena stepped to the other side so they could both watch over Daisy’s shoulder.

It was titled “Quake and The Patriot 2K18” and Daisy wondered if it was some weird political attempt. Amusingly enough, it wouldn’t be the first time.

“What do you think of the Director of SHIELD, The Patriot?” An interviewer asked, holding a microphone toward Daisy. This was from earlier today, and Daisy was momentarily impressed that the poster had put the video together so quickly.

“I mean, I gotta give the guy props,” video-Daisy replied, raising her eyebrows for emphasis. “It takes a lot of balls to be the face of a movement.” She glanced quickly toward the camera and then back toward the interviewer. “Can I say that?” She laughed. The man with the microphone laughed as well, then asked her,

“And that’s okay with you? That he’s the face of the Inhuman Rights Movement? Say, as opposed to you?”

Daisy was proud of herself that she’d immediately shaken her head, not hesitating at all over the possible fire-starter of a question.

“No way. He’s better at the political stuff than I am, anyway,” She laughed easily at herself, “And this kind of thing is more than just persuading the people. We have to persuade the men and women in charge, as well. And I never was very good at sitting behind a desk,” She joked. Growing slightly more serious, she added, “And I know a lot of people - they see me as a hero, and - hey, I am incredibly honored by that - but this is more than just being a hero. This is about being a symbol of hope. And if the head of a government organization can be an Inhuman, then that opens up the possibilities for other Inhumans. Not to mention the fact that some of us probably have gifts that would be well-suited for certain vocations. I mean, think about it - somebody that could control water would make a kick-ass firefighter. Or the wind, or electricity - for energy!”

“You make a good point, there,” The interviewer replied, but the video faded out at that point, and into another one.

This one had Jeffrey Mace on screen, in his suit and tie. He must be at the convention as the Director, and less so as The Patriot.

“What’s your take on Quake?” This interview was with a different company, and the guy interviewing was a lot younger and filled with a lot more barely-contained excitement than her own interviewer had been. Mace didn’t often have a lot of opportunity to talk with ‘the every-day man’, so to speak, so Daisy wasn’t entirely surprised there.

“That rhymed,” Mace pointed out, smiling and chuckling a little. Daisy immediately grinned some as well - damn, he had an infectious smile.

“Hah, I didn’t quite mean for that, but, hey,” The interview laughed, embarrassed at himself.

“To answer your question - and pull you out of the hot seat,”

“Thank you.”

“I think Miss Johnson is a class act.” A part of her warmed with appreciation that he used her real name. “As the Director, of course, I can’t always approve of the things she gets up to, but it’s clear to me that her desire is to help, and protect, her fellow Inhumans.” He grinned wryly as he glanced at the camera. “I just wish she would call up SHIELD so they could be _sanctioned_  operations.”

The interviewer chuckled, and while Daisy was a bit miffed about the idea of joining (rejoining, in her case, but very few people knew that) SHIELD, but she couldn’t deny that Mace was indeed very good at playing the part.

“What about as The Patriot?”

Mace paused on that one for a moment, clearly pondering seriously about the question. Then he glanced right at the camera and said,

“I’d love to team up with her one day.”

The video faded out there, and text rolled up from the bottom that again stated ‘Quake & The Patriot 2K18’ and the usual request to post comments and opinions below the video.

Daisy scrolled down to check some of them out, and the top comment - with forty upvotes already - claimed in all caps:

_I SHIP IT!!! #QUAKETRIOT_

“Holy cow.” Daisy blurted, and then laughed, and handed the phone back to Joey. “What did I just watch? A call for an election, or a fan video?”

“A little of both,” Elena commented, nodding, and grinned widely at her friend. “I think I ship it, too.”

“Hey, I thought I had dibs!” Joey protested, and Elena rolled her eyes.

“You wouldn’t dream of cheating on Kevin, even if it were with Jeffrey Mace. You and that man were made for each other.”

“I’m not - woah, when did mutual appreciation suddenly turn into romance?” Daisy exclaimed, and Joey gave her a wry look.

“Since the beginning of time, chica. Anyway, I don’t want you to be sideswiped by this stuff. If it gains traction, you might be getting a lot more questions within this topic - especially after the photo op tomorrow.”

“I wonder if the photographer shares these points of views,” Elena hummed, smiling to herself, and Daisy shook her head.

“Don’t even go there,” She warned. “He’s the Director of SHIELD. I’m, more or less, a vigilante. One that Talbot only _begrudgingly_  allows to stay free, and I think that’s only in respect to our past. This kind of rumor could be dangerous.”

“Or,” Joey interjected thoughtfully. “It could be the perfect team-up.” He gestured his hands in front of him as if he were reading a headline, “The Fight for Inhuman Rights - Both Sides of the Coin,”

“Stop.” Daisy drawled, digging her swimsuit out of one of the drawers. “I’m going for a swim. When I get back, no discussions about Jeffrey Mace. Got it?”

“Yes Ma’am,” Elena and Joey smirked, looking at one another with an expression that clearly stated they would continue to talk about it while she was downstairs.

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

“You have the photo op with Daisy this morning, and then an interview session with her until lunchtime. After that, you’re supposed to be available for official photos with fans. Those will be with The Patriot suit. You still good with that?” Phil informed Jeffrey over their morning cups of coffee. They’d ordered room service to avoid running into anyone downstairs.

“As long as you’ve got lots of water, some towels, maybe a little fan…” Jeffrey sighed, not exactly looking forward to the afternoon. He really enjoyed interacting with the fans - especially the younger ones - but that suit did not offer great air flow. It was perfectly fine during a mission, of course, but standing around in it - especially in front of lots of bright lights - all day would be brutal.

“Don’t worry,” Mack sent him a little grin as he patted the small duffel bag he was putting together. “I’ll throw in shorts and a tee-shirt, as well. Plus, remember we’ve got these ice packs that FitzSimmons created. What better time to test them out then now, when you don’t have to worry about guys beating you up or shooting at you?”

“Ooo, right.” Jeffrey perked up at that.

Fitz had modified the inside of his Patriot suit with little sleeves where the cold packs Simmons created could slip inside. Supposedly, they would stay chilled for hours at a time, and keep his body temperature at a comfortable level even underneath the heavy material and armor plates.

“What about the morning shoot? Any particular tie I should wear?”

“Actually, the guy emailed me this morning and suggests having you dressed down a bit.” Phil answered, “What about those grey jeans, and your Converse? The red, white, and blue ones. For obvious reasons,” Phil grinned, and Jeffrey rolled his eyes.

“Are you sure? How professional is this supposed to be? Talbot did mention that his people were the ones who planned this. I’d expect they want me dressed up as The Patriot.” He admitted, and Phil shook his head.

“We’re trying to go for the ‘we’re just two regular people, too’ vibe.” Phil told him, and Jeffrey looked at him dubiously.

“Can’t I just lose the tie, then?”

“Wear that dark blue sweater,” Mack suggested. “It’s a good look for you.”

“Casual, Jeff. Casual.” Phil reminded him, and Jeffrey huffed and nodded, giving in. He rarely ever dressed down, even after hours on the base. When he wasn’t dressed for working out, anyway, he was always wearing some button-up collared shirt. “Besides, I'm sure Daisy will like your sweater.” Phil added dryly.

“I'm not worried about that!” Jeffrey protested, not sounding believable. Phil's phone rang, interrupting any further teasing, and Jeffrey moped as he finished his coffee.

“Well, change of plans.” Phil announced after he hung up. “Fan photos first, and then after lunch you'll have the photo op with Daisy, followed with your partnered interviews.”

“Well.” Jeffrey sighed heavily as he eyed the armoire where his Patriot suit was hanging. “Grab the ice packs, Mack.”  


**———**

 

“Damn, what's in this hall?” Daisy wondered as she tried to peer over the line of people that trailed out of the open doors. She could see a backdrop at the far end of the room, but there were too many people who were taller than her for her to see who was there.

“Um,” Joey hummed as he checked through the event schedule on his phone. “Oh, damn. It's The Patriot. He's doing fan photos.”

“Really?” Daisy perked up. She was curious to watch how he interacted with people, other than when directly in front of the media.

“I don't think we should,” Joey started, but Daisy shook her head at him as she walked up to the guy keeping guard at the door. He was rather tall, well-built, and Daisy noticed the way Elena mostly-subtly checked him out.

“Excuse me,” She caught the guard’s attention. He didn't seem like one of the event employees, which meant he was probably government hired for Mace. He might even be SHIELD, though Daisy didn't recognize him. Which was actually rather common, these days; she’d been gone for long enough that she hardly recognized any of them she would see on the tv anymore. Plus the fact that they were even on tv in the first place - that wasn’t a thing while she’d been an agent.

The guard gave her a skeptical look; she was dressed in a baggy hoodie, ballcap, and sunglasses, in an effort to be unrecognizable. It's worked so far, but, she really wanted to sneak into the room. She lowered her glasses and gave the guard a little smile, opening her mouth to explain, and recognition sparked immediately in his eyes.

“Damn,” He said appreciatively, “You’re - ”

“Yeah,” She hurried, before he could say her name and someone nearby overhear. “Look, I’m trying to keep low right now, at least until later. Can I just slip in? I’d like to observe.”

“Check him out before you have to spend the next few hours with him,” The tall man nodded, smiling a peculiar smile that made her frown in response. “Sure, you can go in. But no butting in line,” He warned with a twinkle in his eye, “Things have been relatively calm and I want to keep it that way.”

“You got it, Boss.” Daisy nodded, giving him a casual salute. She grabbed Elena’s arm and tilted her head for Joey to follow them in as she slipped along the back wall, casual-like.

“Hey, why do they - ”

“They work here.” The guard replied easily, bored, to the quiet protest behind her. She smiled to herself, and nudged Elena with her elbow.

“I think I like him,” She teased, “And I think you do, too.”

“That is a lot of man right there.” Elena observed, looking back toward the man in question.

Daisy chuckled quietly, finding an area against the back that was open and offered a direct line of sight toward the backdrop. She leaned her back against the wall and casually folded her arms over her chest, watching as a guy and presumably his daughter approach Mace. The guy was holding the little girl’s hand, encouraging her as she stared up agape at The Patriot.

Mace smiled gently down at her, and Daisy had to admit that if it wasn’t a real smile, it was a damn believable fake one. He crouched down to be eye-level with the girl, saying something to her that made her nod shyly. He asked her a question, and she glanced up toward her dad before leaning forward and cupping her hand to whisper something in Mace’s ear. He looked very serious as he listened to her, and glanced up toward her dad as well.

Her dad must’ve known what she was asking or saying, because he nodded, and then Mace nodded as well. The little girl immediately lit up and threw her arms around Mace’s neck, and he returned the hug before he helped shift her around so that she could climb onto his back, her legs hanging over his shoulders.

Continuing to squat, he lifted his fists to flex his arms, making a snarling expression toward the camera. Adorably, the little girl copied the pose atop his shoulders, until the cameraman indicated that he’d gotten the photo. Mace guided her off of his shoulders and gave her one more hug before he stood straight. Her dad shook his hand, and she waved goodbye as she skipped off, no longer shy.

Multiple people in the crowd made noises of affection and Mace looked almost embarrassed for a moment, and smiled at them.

“Jesus, that’s real, isn’t it.” Joey realized, looking half-disgusted. “He’s _actually_  that humble.”

“I doubt he’s always like that,” Daisy scoffed, rolling her eyes, but watching him greet the next fan - a teenaged boy wearing a Captain America t-shirt - with the exact same enthusiasm he’d greeted the little girl with, she had to give him credit. “But you have a point. He genuinely cares about people.”

“He’s a patriot,” Elena said as if it needed pointed out. “He cares about his country and it’s people. All of them. That has always been apparent and is why I am usually okay with him speaking for my behalf.”

“I swear to God, if you guys are trying to butter him up to me to get this QuakePatriot thing going, I’m going to _Quake_  both of your asses.” Daisy warned affectionately.

“Promises, promises.” Joey rolled his eyes, and Daisy pushed his arm.

“What are you doing?” She questioned warningly as she noticed he was writing a tweet. He finished typing and showed it to her before he posted it.

 

> _**@Quake101** : Hm, I think there's a @SHIELDDirectorMace sighting. Should I go say hello?_

  
“Is that a good idea?” She wondered, holding onto his phone for a moment. “I mean, we have that photo op in a couple hours, anyway,”

“And this will make people even more interested once the photos are released.” Joey assured her, holding his hand out. “You don't _have_  to actually go over there and say hello.” He rolled his eyes at her. “Scaredy cat.”

“I'm not _scared_ ,” She retorted, slapping the phone into his hand. “We were advised not to jump in line, remember?”

“Sure, sure,” Joey was already focused on the Internet once more, and Daisy sighed. He managed a lot of that stuff because he was good at it, and she needed the extra hand for when she was too busy going after Watchdogs to tweet about it. That didn't mean she never considered taking back her decision to ask him to do this job.

“Hm, check out Mr. Secret Agent at two o’clock,” Elena murmured, leaning against Daisy's shoulder for a moment. Scanning the room, sure enough Daisy noticed the suit leaning somewhat casually against the wall beside the photo area. He was close enough to be of help should something funky go down, but he was carefully out of frame from the cameraman.

He was wearing sunglasses, too, but Daisy immediately recognized him anyway, and she startled.

“Damn,” She whispered, staring wide-eyed, and Elena raised her eyebrow.

“Recognize him?” She asked, and Joey looked up from his phone to check out the situation as well.

“Yeah,” Daisy hissed, watching as the suit perused his phone, furrowed his brow, and immediately lifted his head to scan the room. “That's _Coulson_.”

“Oh,” Joey realized, the both of them having been told about Daisy's past with SHIELD, and her friendship with it's previous, unknown Director. “And it looks like he received notification of the mention in your tweet.”

“ _Your_  tweet,” Daisy argued.

“ _Your_  handle,” Joey returned.

“Wasn't he a big-shot in SHIELD? Why is he Mace’s PR guy?” Elena wondered, and Joey frowned at her.

“Hey, PR is very important!”

“Probably because he used to do what Mace does, and knows a little more about what to share and what not to.” Daisy mused, watching her old boss and friend as he looked right passed them in his observation of the room. “Having that job probably allows him to go with Mace pretty much everywhere. It's a good cover.”

“Should we say hi?” Joey wondered, questioning himself. “That guy seems pretty serious.”

“He looks that way, but don't let that…” Daisy trailed off, focusing on the room again.

Just because she wasn't allowed to use her powers here didn't mean that she could just turn them on and off. She still picked up on vibrational frequencies, and quite suddenly the room had begun to feel tense. Agitated.

There was someone here who was not happy.

“What is it?” Elena picked up on Daisy's sharp expression beneath her getup.

“Somebody just entered the room… who might not have good intentions.” She murmured slowly. “Keep an eye out for anyone who's particularly nervous. Shifty, maybe sweaty.”

“You think they could have gotten past the big guy out front?” Elena mused unbelievably.

“It's possible,” Daisy shrugged, “I doubt he's able to get a super close look at every single person who walks through the door.” She looked toward Joey. “Take a walk with me.”

“Sure thing, Boss.” Joey replied, tucking his phone into his pocket and wrapping his arm around hers.

Leaving Elena at her post - she was more than fast enough to still be able to help them from afar - they meandered their way back toward the doors, trying not to call attention to themselves. So focused on the possible threat in the room, Daisy didn't notice that Coulson had caught eye of her again. Even if he couldn't quite tell from watching her walk away, he still suspected, and he shifted off of the wall he'd been leaning against.

Even without her powers, Daisy had always been good at reading people. It was a part of how she survived so long being on her own. Her powers helped, though. Like a metal detector, the tension she was picking up on started ‘pinging’ around her skull more intently the closer she got to their mystery person.

“That dude wearing the Deadpool tee?” Joey murmured quietly, just as Daisy laid her eyes on the same man.

There was sharp glint in his eye as he stared unwaveringly in Mace’s direction, and Daisy didn't like it. He was standing in line calmly enough, but his neck was covered in a sheen of sweat, and his pulse was racing. Either this guy was pretty sick, or he was the one they were looking for - in any case, it would be smart to get him out of the room.

Daisy nodded and slipped her arm from Joey’s, waiting until they were passing the Deadpool tee man before she grinned widely and stepped right in front of him, putting her palm flat against his chest.

“Frank? Hey! I didn't know you would be here!” Daisy greeted, not excessively loudly to draw attention, but showing friendliness so those standing around them wouldn't be suspicious.

The man narrowed his eyes before a brief look of anxiousness crossed his face, and Daisy leaned in as if she were pressing a chaste kiss against his cheek.

“You might know the name Quake. I wouldn't try anything.” She warned quickly before leaning away, her palm still firm against his chest. With her free hand she tilted her sunglasses down her nose and raised her eyebrow at him.

Recognition immediately filled his eyes and he relaxed significantly beneath her touch, starting to look nervous for an entirely new reason.

“Turn around.” Daisy advised him, and he swallowed, but did as asked. She and Joey followed him out of the room, and she grabbed his arm to halt him when they were away from the people in line. “What was your plan? Go in there and kill the Director of SHIELD? Or just cause a scene?”

“I don't have to explain myself to you.” He scoffed, narrowing his eyes at her.

“No, but if you don't want to end up inside a jail cell, you do have to listen to me. Leave the building, and don't come back. I don't know who hired you specifically, but maybe rethink your job choices - hell, maybe your life choices.” She softened her tone slightly as she added, “We can't start a civil war among us when it's such a struggle to get the others to accept us.”

“How - how did you know I'm - ”

“Part of my gift.” Daisy shrugged. “Doesn't always work that way, but, certain people have powers that change the shape of their vibrational patterns. Most humans have the same basic patterns - Inhumans with stronger powers, on the other hand…” She trailed off, explaining the point of her idea. He nodded slowly, looking a bit impressed now, and she furrowed her brow at him. “Who _is_  your employer? Assuming you were hired for this job?”

“No one, I…” He sighed, looking ashamed of himself, now. “I have a family. A little girl. Somehow…she's like me.”

“And you wanted to attack the man who's trying to provide your little girl the same rights as any other little girl in the U.S.?” Daisy wondered pointedly.

“I just wanted to see if he meant it!” The man made an exasperated gesture, and Joey stepped a little closer to them, watching closely. If this guy wasn't in good control of his powers, it wouldn't do for him to become further agitated. “He's always on the tv with that - that stupid overconfident smile and hopeful words and confidence. I know how the government works, how politics work. I never believed him.” Just as quickly as he'd grown annoyed, he deflated. “But as I was standing in line, I realized…”

“He's genuine,” Daisy finished for him, softly, and he nodded.

“It's hard to believe.” He admitted. “But then I started thinking maybe he needed a push, you know? These addendums aren't getting anywhere with the state governors or the guys in charge. Mace is too soft!”

“So, what, you were gonna rough him up?” Daisy chuckled a bit at that, and he shuffled on his feet.

“He's the freakin’ Patriot; I doubt I would hurt him.” He sighed. “I don't know. Look, I know it was stupid, okay? I just want to make sure my daughter has a future.”

“I get that.” Daisy told him softly. “I do.”

He looked at her for a moment, and nodded.

“You're out there actually _doing_  something about it. That's what all of us need to be doing.”

“No,” Daisy quickly shook her head, “no, not what I'm doing. I wouldn't ask this life for anyone - it's _dangerous_. And…” She grimaced, jokingly toward herself, trying to keep it light, “Not always legal.”

“Still. You make people _see_. Take notice.”

“Director Mace is making people see, too, my friend - I promise you that. Unfortunately these things never happen as quickly as we want them to - but every day, we’re making progress that gives your daughter a future.”

He gave her a long, searching look.

“You know, I've watched some of your broadcasts. I used to think you were too young, too brash, just a kid trying to be a vigilante.”

“Oo, ouch.” She grimaced. “I've got a young face, okay?” She was joking about it, but not truly bothered by his words. He did appear at least ten years her senior, and she understood that people were wary when younger generations spoke for them.

“It's not like that at all, though.” He smiled a little apologetically. “My name isn't Frank, by the way. It's Henry.” He held out his hand, and she shook it.

“Daisy,” She said, and he laughed a little.

“I know.” His expression sobered, and he gave her hand a squeeze before he let go. “Thank you. I… if I had done something, I probably would have ended up in jail. And I don't want my daughter to see that, to think of me like that.”

“Not only that, but you're also an example for her of how Inhumans should act.” Daisy pointed out, and he nodded. A beat of silence passed between them before he furrowed his brow curiously.

“Do you know him well? Mace?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, the way you two are - for the most part, anyway - supportive of one another’s decisions. I mean, are you actually working together? Just on both sides of the law?”

“No, we're not partners, or coworkers, or even boss and employee.” Daisy shook her head, then smirked. “Actually, I've never met him face-to-face.”

“Oh.” He seemed genuinely surprised by that. “So… were you in there today to meet him? I mean, you weren't exactly in line. I'd noticed you earlier and just figured you were SHIELD.”

“I'll be meeting him eventually,” Daisy gestured her hand in the air offhandedly. “An event like this; a lot of people want to see our faces together,” She hesitated at the phrasing. “I mean, not together, but, like, in the same photo.”

“I figured that.” He smirked when she couldn't quite hide her fluster. “Just getting a feel, then?” He figured, and she refused to entertain the images _that_  phrasing brought to mind.

“Same as you.” She shrugged. “Seeing if he was for real.”

He nodded, and shook her hand again, thanking her once more.

“Wait until I tell my daughter that I met Quake. She'll be ecstatic.” He smiled widely, clearly caring deeply about his daughter, and Daisy nodded her head in Joey’s direction; signaling that her friend could approach them.

“How about some photo proof? This is my Twitter guy.” Daisy asked, and introduced Joey once he had joined them.

“Hey, I do way more than Twitter!” Joey protested, looking between her and Henry. Only Daisy could tell that he was still wary, and she minutely shook her head. The guy was fine. “But I also do Twitter.” Joey admitted lamely, shaking Henry’s hand.

When all was said and done, Daisy had zero concern about Henry plotting anything else, and they eventually parted ways.

“I'm starving.” Elena announced, suddenly next to them, and Daisy had long ago gotten used to her antics. Joey, however, still jumped and yelped. Elena smirked, having wanted that reaction.

“I _hate_  it when you -!”

“Elena,” Daisy sighed, “you know you're not supposed to do that here. Whether or not they can catch you is besides the point.”

“Yes, Mother.” Elena drawled, comically rolling her eyes though she was still grinning.

“But,” Daisy brightened, “there's a great hoagie shop just a couple blocks from here. It's a nice day for a walk, isn't it?"  


**———**

 

“Thank God,” Jeffrey murmured quietly once they noticed Mack close the doors, signifying the remaining line in the room were the last people participating in the photo op today.

He'd enjoyed this morning more than he could put into words, but it was still exhausting. And even with the successful ice packs in his suit, and the cool towel at ready, his gear was uncomfortable.

And he was hungry.

“How's the media looking?” Jeffrey asked Phil, noticing the man had been perusing his phone a little more intently for the last half hour.

“Well… you know that YouTube video I showed you this morning?” Phil began, and Jeffrey’s brow twitched.

“Two minutes?” Jeffrey requested of the photographer, and the two young adults who were next in line. They all nodded and he gratefully stepped out of the hot lights and leaned over Phil’s shoulder to look at the phone as well. “What about it?” Jeffrey wondered, looping the damp towel around the back of his neck.

“Seems like they've added to it. It looks like it might be a, um, growing collection of…”

“Of what?”

“I'm not actually sure, yet.” Phil admitted. “Seems like random footage right now, but there is a common theme.”

Phil tapped the play button, and slid the viewfinder along through all the familiar stuff until it cut to a new frame.

_“Anyway, before I give away something even **more**  embarrassing, I’m gonna - ”_

_“Like your swooning over The Patriot?!”_ Another voice called off-camera, barely loud enough for the phone speaker to pick up. Daisy blushed and quickly finished,

 _“I’m gonna hit the hay! Peace!”_ The video cut out immediately after that, and transitioned to screenshots of multiple tweets, beginning with one from Daisy's handle wondering about saying hello to Mace, and lots of responses that supported the idea, offered suggestions (some of which made Jeffrey blush), or simply contained a string of emojis that often included the smiling face with heart eyes.

Jeffrey wasn't sure how Phil wanted him to respond.

“What - when was this?” Jeffrey wondered.

“I saw her full video post this morning; it's from late last night. The tweet, though, was posted about a half hour ago.” Phil answered, and Jeffrey raised his eyebrows.

“And it has all those responses already?” He exclaimed in surprise.

“And whoever this YouTube account is, they work awfully fast putting all this stuff together. It's almost like they anticipate it.” Phil mused thoughtfully. He grew serious and slipped his phone into his pocket, leaning closer as double precaution no one would overhear the rest of their conversation. “Also, you should know, I think she was in here earlier. Probably when the tweet was posted. There was some kind of incident.”

“What?” Jeffrey couldn't help but glance around the room again, though there was no way he would have missed her with the way the crowd had thinned out by now.

“It was quick and quiet; I honestly may not have noticed if I wasn't already searching the room for her.” Phil admitted, and Jeffrey gave him a look.

“What kind of bodyguard are you?”

Phil ignored the teasing barb.

“I'm not even sure if it was her, honestly; I never got a good look at her face. But the way she managed to take that guy out of the room, I do think it might have been Daisy.”

“What guy?” Jeffrey asked, and Phil shrugged.

“I don't know. I never picked up on anything amiss, but she could have much more easily.”

“Did she ever come back in?” Jeffrey wondered, and Phil smirked at him.

“No, but don't look so sad - you'll see her up close and personal in just a couple hours,” Phil teased, and Jeffrey frowned at his friend.

“Hold this.” Jeffrey grumbled, not waiting for a response before tossing the towel at Phil. Phil barely managed to catch and deflect it; half of it landed against his face anyway. He was still smirking when he pulled it away, and Jeffrey turned on his heel and put a smile on his face as he stepped back into the photo area.

Though he couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of Daisy Johnson swooning over him. Was that a real thing, or just friendly teasing? She had blushed, after all - what did that mean?

“Dude! Can I be the one in your arms, and my girlfriend is standing off to the side, jealous?” The young guy’s enthusiasm made Jeffrey laugh, and he nodded and shrugged.

“Jump in,” He joked, holding his arms out to cradle the man.

“You are so chill! I can't wait to show this to my friends,” The woman laughed, before standing where the photographer suggested and then putting a pretty believable pout on her face, folding her arms across her chest.

Her boyfriend wrapped one arm around Jeffrey's shoulders and pressed his other wrist against his own forehead, even stretching one leg out slightly in a classic swooning pose.

Jeffrey wasn't sure he could keep the amused smirk off of his face long enough to go with the pose, but once he'd set the guy down and the pair had looked at their photos, they immediately laughed and said it was perfect.

“We should put this on the wedding invitations,” The guy suggested, and the girl nodded before she did a comical double-take and gaped at him. “If you'd like. I think it'd be funny,” He was going for casual, and shrugged, but she interrupted him with a squeal as she leapt at him.

“Perfect! It'd be perfect! Oh my God, did you just?” She wouldn't remove her arms from around his neck though so he just held her tightly and nodded, grinning widely over her shoulder.

The remaining folks in line all cheered and clapped for the couple, and Jeffrey applauded them quietly as well, touched by the sight.

So sue him; he'd always been a bit of a romantic. And that obviously unplanned part on the guy’s proposal was cute.

“Hey,” Jeffrey leaned over in Phil's direction, “See if either of them have a social media handle. I want to post a congratulations there, too.”

“Such a sap,” Phil teased, but he smiled fondly as he did as requested.

After a little over thirty minutes, they finally called the event to a close, and the photographer began packing up his equipment.

“I'll send you guys copies of all these, as well. Make sure they're all approved for a final check before I send them to the fans.”

“Thank you,” Jeffrey said sincerely, shaking the man’s hand.

He and Phil moved to another area of the room to give the guy space to work, and Jeffrey immediately began removing his chest plate. He traded Phil for the cold towel, and sighed as he partially unzipped his jacket and pressed it against his chest.

“How'd the ice packs work?” Mack wondered, approaching them. He set Jeffrey's duffel at his feet.

“As well as they could, probably. I know I'd be feeling way worse right now without them, so make sure I remember to thank FitzSimmons again when we get back.” Jeffrey answered appreciatively. He picked up his duffel, and his armor piece from Phil. “Food, right? I'm starved.”

“Yeah,” Mack grinned widely. “I did some Googling while I was standing outside,”

“Seriously, most inattentive bodyguards ever.” Jeffrey shook his head, jokingly complaining, and both guys pretended to ignore him.

“There's supposed to be this great local place just a few blocks away,” Mack finished, and Phil's eyes lit up.

“That hoagie place? I found it last night,”

“Yeah, their meatball sandwiches sound great.”

Jeffrey rolled his eyes lovingly as the guys started waxing poetic about food, leaving them chatting while he quickly cleaned himself up a bit and changed clothes in the nearby restroom.

He’d packed an extra shirt, a long-sleeve dark green henley, to pair with the jeans and converses Phil was so fond of he'd agreed to wear for the photo-op with Daisy. He’d just have to make sure he was careful not to drop any food on his pants.

He grimaced down at the way the pants fit him, wriggling a bit until they felt comfortable. They looked a little too form-fitting in his opinion, but when he looked into his reflection in the mirror, they weren't actually that bad. The cut was more slim than the relaxed kind he preferred, but Phil had kept insisting they looked great, until Jeffrey had felt like the man might threaten him if he tried to put any other pair into the duffel.

And here he was, checking himself in the mirror as if he were a teenager going on his first date.

“Hell.” Jeffrey muttered to himself, shaking his head as he zipped up the duffel and pushed his fingers through his hair, loosening up the curls a bit. The gelled look didn't settle right with the casual clothes he was wearing.

“Ready?” Jeffrey asked once he joined the others in the hall again, and Mack gave him a look.

“Who are you?”

“Har, har,” Jeffrey rolled his eyes.  


**———**

 

The sandwich shop was comfortably busy - Jeffrey felt he could spend most of his lunch relatively unnoticed, but also without bumping elbows with strangers every two minutes.

A line weaved around the tables but it moved fairly quickly, so Jeffrey held their place while Phil and Mack searched for an ideal table - easy read of the room, and quick escape. It was a habit they'd always had that took Jeff a while to get used to. Eventually he just put up with it, because eating with them always ended up a more stressful affair than it needed to be if they were all tense and on edge.

“No way,”

“Dude, it's _meant to be_ ,”

“Shut up!”

Hissed tones drew Jeffrey's attention more closely to the table he was standing near, and suddenly there was a woman standing very close to him.

He blinked at her. She was a little shorter than him; that was the first thing he noted.

“Hi! Sorry,” She greeted brightly, then nervously, though there wasn't much room for her to move out of his space. “Thought it might be weird _not_  to say hello, once I recognized you.”

He was staring. He needed to stop staring.

“Daisy Johnson,” Thank God his warm greeting sounded far calmer than he felt. He squeezed his fist for a brief moment, getting rid of the trembling in his fingers before he lifted his hand between them. “This a surprise,” He admitted, “I didn't expect to meet you for another hour or so yet.”

She shook his offered hand, her grip firm but inviting. He remembered what sort of power she could exude with those hands, and he hid his own inside of his pockets before she noticed his returned nervousness.

“Hi.” She said again with a smile, as if she hadn't said it already, and then she winced and looked embarrassed. “I actually saw you earlier, today, too.” She admitted. “I took a peek into your fan event.”

“I also hear I should thank you for warding off a potential issue?” He raised his eyebrow slightly, and she shrugged and nodded, her smile different now. Something more familiar to what he would see in her blog videos; not fake, just… different.

Not that he watched her videos obsessively or anything, he just recognized the expression, that was all.

He realized he'd been smiling like an idiot and not saying anything.

Then again, she hadn't said anything else, either.

“Que bonito amor…” The Spanish-speaking voice sounded vaguely familiar to Jeffrey but he couldn't quite place it, though Daisy immediately gritted her teeth and whirled back around to glare toward her table.

The woman sitting there was grinning rather saucily at them both, and the man next to her was simply watching intently.

“Sorry, these are my, uh, guys,” Daisy gestured, and Jeffrey rocked on his toes a bit as he smiled politely in greeting.

He couldn't quite get past the fact that Daisy was mere inches from him. Daisy was talking to him!

Shit, would this have happened in the photo room an hour from now? That would've possibly been even more embarrassing. He definitely did not want his fanboying caught on camera, especially for their mysterious YouTuber to find.

“Joey,” The man nodded, briefly giving Jeffrey a look that made him blush a little, before his expression blanked again.

“Elena,” The woman stood and reached across the table to shake Jeffrey's hand, her grin unwavering.

Jeffrey suddenly realized that she was probably the one in Daisy's video, accusing Daisy of swooning. That would certainly explain the way she was looking at them both.

“My team is around here somewhere,” Jeffrey glanced around, suddenly feeling like he might need some backup, before he completely lost his resolve and asked Daisy for her autograph or something.

“Yeah, I saw Coulson over there,” Daisy gestured vaguely, saying his name with familiarity.

“You know him? Wait, that's right, of course you know him,” Jeffrey remembered, and Daisy looked surprised now.

“You know about that?” She sounded unsure of his opinions on the matter.

“Know about what?” Jeffrey replied cryptically, giving her a small wink. He knew that she wanted her SHIELD history to be kept a secret, and for now, it was best for both of them anyway.

She relaxed significantly, and Jeffrey was once more reminded of their proximity when the line shifted - she stepped with him immediately.

“Have you eaten yet?” He thought to ask, and she shook her head.

“We ordered; we’re just waiting on the sandwiches now.”

“You should join us!” Elena called, and Daisy glanced over toward her friend quickly. Jeffrey couldn't see her expression but he could imagine the warning glare she was sending.

“I don't want to impose,” He started, secretly hoping she'd actually be agreeable to the idea.

“No, we’re about to spend some time taking friendly photos together, right? Might as well get to know one another beforehand.” Daisy pointed out, and he smiled widely.

Then he realized he might look too excited by the plan, and he rolled his shoulders back, trying to relax.

“Hey… okay, could I…” Her hesitancy made him curious, and she laughed lightly. “Can we take a picture? I mean, on my phone? Not to post or anything, it’d just - I mean, you're The Patriot.”

Oh my God, was she fangirling over _him_?

“Yeah,” He croaked, then cleared his throat, trying to be casual about it, “Sure, of course. Any chance to get a photo with Daisy Johnson.” He smiled then, and she seemed to preen when he said her name, instead of ‘Quake’. He took mental note of that.

She pulled her phone out as the line moved again, and once they'd stopped moving, he leaned down slightly behind her, so their heads were both more aligned on the screen.

He was proud that his smile was wide but not too ecstatic, though there could be no hiding that excited sparkle in his eyes. He would have been embarrassed by it, but he noticed as she snapped the photo that her expression was much of the same.

“Well, hey, once you order, come join us. We've got room at our table.” Daisy suggested, and Jeffrey nodded as he straightened. She half-grinned quickly once more before turning and slipping back through the crowd to sit at her table.

Jeffrey stared into space for a moment, still a bit surprised by the unexpected early meeting.

Then he had to turn and face the menu so she wouldn't see the stupid grin on his face.  


**———**

 

“Very hot.” Elena commented as soon as Daisy slipped into her seat, and Joey nodded.

“I don't think I've ever seen him wear anything other than a suit,” He craned his neck to try and get another look at the man in line; he'd moved far enough away at this point that it was hard to get a full look around the other customers.

“Stop it!” Daisy warned them, but inside she was giddy. “He's going to join us. Lunch with Jeffrey Mace! If you'd have told me yesterday that I'd be eating hoagies with that guy today…” Daisy shook her head, and realized her friends were smirking at her.

“You are so fangirling right now.” Joey sang, and Daisy made a face at him. “Let me see that picture you took!”

“It's _not_  for online,” Daisy threatened, passing him her phone, and he nodded as he accepted it.

“I won't beg. We'll have the professional ones soon enough. Though,” He trailed off as he opened the photo and turned the phone to the side so he could view it full screen. He and Elena leaned in together to both look at it.

“Mm, will they be able to catch such joy, though?” Elena mused, and Daisy scowled.

“Such innocent happiness? Pure excitement?” Joey continued, and Daisy leaned forward to snatch her phone back.

“It's just a damn selfie,” She muttered, looking at it more closely now.

“It's in-the-moment, though!” Joey pointed out. “Nothing staged; your real emotions. The viewers might like that at some point in the future…”

“No.” Daisy insisted, and Joey shrugged, leaning back in his seat. The fact that he gave up that quickly made Daisy suspicious, though she had to admit that they did both look pretty happy in the photo. Maybe that first meeting hadn't actually been as awkward as she thought it was.

She noticed Coulson and another man slipping around some people to speak quietly to Mace, and he gestured toward Daisy's table. Coulson followed the gesture and caught her gaze immediately. She blinked as he just looked at her for a long moment, his expression inscrutable, before he turned and nodded at Mace.

Then he was walking toward her, followed by the big muscular guy that Elena hadn't stopped talking about since they left the conference hall. Daisy got to her feet, nervousness coiling in her belly for a different reason, now.

She hadn't seen Coulson face-to-face since she'd left SHIELD. Literally, walked out of the base without saying goodbye, to anyone. She'd left him a note, because how could she not, but she knew it hadn't been enough. It hadn't been enough for her, either - but if she had waited to say goodbye to him, she probably wouldn't have ended up leaving at all.

Coulson paused just in front of her, both of them looking at one another and momentarily unsure of what to do next. Four years had flown by quickly, but in the same vein, it felt like forever.

The man behind him started to look mildly uncomfortable, and Daisy reached for Coulson’s arm.

“Coulson,” She sighed, immensely pleased to see him no matter how awkward it might be. He immediately responded, stepping closer and wrapping his arms around her firmly.

“Hi, Daisy,” He murmured against her hair, and fondly pressed his cheek against hers.

“Who’s this guy, again?” Joey whispered suspiciously, though Daisy and no doubt Coulson still heard him.

Daisy pulled out of the embrace so she could introduce them, suddenly feeling completely relaxed. She knew she shouldn’t have worried about Coulson; he’d always been compassionate toward her, even if he didn’t necessarily agree with her decisions. (Though, he’d almost always agreed with her decisions. Her leaving had possibly been the first and only big rift in their friendship.)

“Joey, Elena, this is Coulson.” She stepped back toward the table and pulled him closer with a hand on his arm.

“Phil,” He smiled at them both, shaking their hands in turn. “And this is Mack.” He gestured toward the man still standing vaguely behind him.

“Hi,” He rumbled quietly, cautiously joining their group. He noticeably glanced toward Elena more than once, and she smiled slowly up at him. He blushed, but sat down along with Coulson when Daisy indicated they could.

Okay, _cute_.

She made sure he ended up across from Elena, and Coulson sat at one end while Daisy sat across from Joey. That left the end next to Daisy open for Mace.

“Coulson was my…” Daisy started to explain, trailing off for a moment as she looked at him. His temples seemed perhaps a little more grey than she remembered, but he still had those same, kind eyes. “My mentor, I guess.” She said, and Coulson looked pleased by the title. “He’s the one I told you about; looked out for me, helped train me, back before… well, he’s probably the closest thing I’ve got to family.”

Coulson pressed his mouth together to hide that wide smile she knew he would’ve otherwise sported had they not been in public. Still ever the company-man, keeping up with the poker face. Or trying to.

Basic conversation of job vocations and general getting to know one another ensued after that, and Daisy was pleasantly surprised to find that they spoke easily with one another. It became quickly apparent that Elena and Mack were trying to be polite while definitely flirting with one another, and Daisy especially began considering ways to spur them on once she noticed Coulson’s amused approval.

Mace pulled out the chair diagonal from her, then; announcing he had ordered and their food should be ready shortly. He smiled a bit hesitantly at Daisy, but the others quickly fell back into their conversation and he relaxed, obviously surprised but also happy that they were getting along.

Daisy, Joey, and Elena’s order arrived, putting a pause on the conversation and then changing the topic toward food. Daisy noticed Mace roll his eyes in exasperated amusement as Coulson and Mack showed immediate curiosity, and Joey being quite the foodie as well, conversation quickly picked up again.

Mack stole a fry from Elena’s basket, and she narrowed her eyes at him but smiled. Daisy opened her mouth and elbowed Mace's arm immediately, not thinking about the action. He looked at her with mild surprise.

“Did you see that? Elena hardly ever shares her food…” Daisy stopped squeeing over her friend for a moment, focusing on Mace's arm now.

He’d rested it on the table which was why it’d been so easy for her to elbow it, as if they were old friends. But what caught her attention though was the feel of it, and she laid her hand atop his forearm.

“Wow.” She said, and he blinked at her, frozen beneath her touch. She brushed her fingers against the fabric appreciatively. “That’s really soft.”

“Thank you…?” He mused hesitantly, his cheeks a faint tinge of red.

“And _firm_ ,” She realized, pressing her fingers against his forearm muscles a little, going so far as to slide her hand up just above his elbow.

She flicked her gaze up to his face and he blinked at her, and she leisurely pulled her hand away as she sat back in her seat, as if that had all been totally normal.

He seemed a bit short-circuited for a moment, but then he quietly cleared his throat and smiled a little shyly.

Uh-oh.

* * *

 


	3. Chapter 3

Jeffrey was sure the hoagies were good; he ate all of his in record time, though that was mostly because he wanted as much time as possible to talk with Daisy.

And talk they did; they talked about all kinds of things. Nothing classified about SHIELD and nothing she didn’t want the Director of SHIELD to know about, but still, Jeffrey found himself telling her stories of growing up in Brooklyn. Of his adventures as a reporter, and meeting Cap, and even the story about how he’d been given the name ‘The Patriot’.

It wasn’t as grand and selfless as everyone had made it out to be; honestly, Jeffrey had been acting a bit like an idiot, thinking he was capable of taking down a group of neo-Nazis by himself.

Cap had shown up, saved his ass really, though he'd still admired Jeffrey’s fortitude and his desire to do good for the American people - _all_  of the American people. Cap had called him a patriot, and, well, it had stuck from then on… One of his fellow reporters ran a story on it not knowing Jeffrey was the one underneath the half-assed attempt to conceal his identity, and somehow General Talbot caught wind of it _and_  figured out it was Jeffrey. The rest was history.

“You didn’t have your powers, then?” Daisy furrowed her brow, and Jeffrey shook his head.

“I didn’t even know I was an Inhuman, then. I didn’t find out until Talbot offered to expose me to the Terrigen mist.” Jeffrey admitted.

“And you still fought for us even before you knew you were one of us.” Daisy mused quietly, and his heart skipped a little at the way she was looking at him.

Sure, it wasn’t the first time a woman admired him for his actions, but it _was_  the first time it actually seemed genuine. Plus, this was _Daisy_  looking at him like that.

“Hey, if you two are done making goo-goo eyes at one another over there, we should head out.” Joey announced, and Jeffrey and Daisy immediately straightened in their seats.

He hadn’t realized it, but at some point they’d leaned toward one another as they spoke, sort of shutting out the rest of the world around them.

He was embarrassed for a moment, but then he realized that Joey had been speaking toward Mack and Elena, and hadn’t noticed Daisy and Jeffrey at all. Off the hook, he relaxed, though he did shoot Mack a supportive grin when the man looked a little embarrassed himself.

“Are you wearing that for the photo shoot?” Daisy wondered as Jeffrey held the door open for her. For a moment he thought she was staring at the collar of his shirt, and he wondered if he’d gotten food on it.

“No, I’ve got nicer pull-over to wear,” He told her, quickly darting his hand up to his throat to check it while she wasn’t looking. Nope, clean.

“I tried to get him to dress as casually as possible,” Phil put in, rolling his eyes, and Daisy smirked.

“You did manage to get him out of his suit,” She pointed out, looking Jeffrey up and down a little more openly, now that they were on the sidewalk.

Jeffrey suddenly felt nervous again. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans as they all walked together back to the conference building.

Mack carried Jeffrey’s duffel easily, rolling his eyes when Jeffrey reached for it - Jeffrey suspected Mack was trying to keep him hands-free on purpose. Elena had already settled her hand against the crook of his arm, and he was looking down at her fondly as she spoke. Jeffrey couldn't quite hear what she was saying, but the picture they made put a smile in his face.

“We should set them up,” Daisy mused, leaning her shoulder against Jeffrey's so he would be able to hear her whisper.

“We might not have to,” Jeffrey pointed out, and Daisy pursed her lips in amusement as she watched the two in front of them as well. He tried not to let it show how much her casual touch elated him.

When they neared the building, they all pulled their event badges from their pockets and showed them at the door, sneaking in a back way to avoid most of the crowds. Daisy was already familiar with all the back routes, and led them through the building to the room where the photographer was set up.

Jeffrey found himself following after her easily, happily even, and he had a brief thought that sneaking around the event with her might actually be a lot of fun.

They parted ways with semi-awkward smiles to change, both suddenly reminded that they weren't just two random people who’d met up in a hoagie shop.

Once he'd switched the henley for the pull-over sweater, Jeffrey pursed his lips at himself in the mirror. He fussed with the collar for a moment, pulling closed the quarter-zip, looking at it for a moment, and then tugging the zip open again. He huffed and breathed in deeply before releasing it, grabbing his henley and stepping back into the hall.

It _was_  particularly soft, wasn't it? He fingered the material for a moment, distracted, until Mack cleared his throat.

“Want that in the bag?” Mack gestured his head toward the shirt in Jeffrey's hands, holding the duffel open for him. Jeffrey pulled himself back into the present and tossed the shirt inside, as Mack gave him an appraising nod. “I was right about that sweater. Makes your eyes seem even lighter.”

“Is that good?” Jeffrey wondered, and Mack grinned.

“Come on. Phil and everyone else are already inside,” Mack gestured Jeffrey walk ahead of him.

Phil was chatting with Elena near the door, and Joey was showing Daisy something on his phone, over by the setup. The camerawoman, someone Jeffrey didn't recognize, seemed to be checking final settings on her camera, taking practice shots of Daisy and Joey.

Jeffrey slowed his step a bit, knowing full-well that he was staring, but entirely unable to stop. Daisy had changed from her “hiding in plain sight hoodie” to a white summer dress that was simple, but managed to be both elegant and casual at the same time.

“Oh good, you stuck with the jeans,” Daisy commented as he approached the photo area. She looked pleased, and he hoped to God he wasn’t blushing.

“Hi, guys, I'm Sharon,” The photographer smiled warmly as she stepped closer and shook both of their hands. “There are a few specific shots I'd like to try out, but for the most part, just do whatever feels natural! There's a bunch of props over there if you want to play around,” She pointed her thumb toward where Joey had moved, and was now rifling curiously through the various objects resting on a fold out table.

“Park bench?” Daisy questioned, raising her eyebrow at the piece of white furniture sitting on the other side of the backdrop. There were also two simple wooden chairs as well.

“One of my ideas,” Sharon answered, smiling wider. “Actually, if you wouldn't mind moving it onto those marks I taped up?” She requested of Jeffrey. “It's not heavy at all.”

“Forwent the wrought iron, huh?” Jeffrey joked, moving over to the bench and picking it up easily. It wasn't even wood, at least the seat and back wasn't - the slats were cushioned, firm, but soft nonetheless.

“Indoor furniture tends to be easier to move around,” Sharon replied, stepping behind her camera again to make sure the bench lined up well in the shot. “I was told,” She spoke as she worked, “that they want casual shots. Friendly, not too friendly, fun, not too goofball. And nothing that might look like you're discussing serious politics?” Sharon poked her head around the camera to look at them, her eyebrow raised, and Daisy laughed.

“That sounds like Talbot!” She agreed, and Jeffrey couldn't help but look at her with surprise for a moment. He knew by now that they knew some of the same people, but it was hard to picture her within that world; his world, of politics and government.

Sharon ended up taking a lot of photos; it was probably the most Jeffrey had ever done in a shoot. Then again, usually his "photo shoots" were completely full of stiff-upper-lip politicians. It took him a bit to loosen up and relax, but the photographer took it easy on them. Most of her "scenes" had an overarching theme; playing on the fact that Jeffrey and Daisy should technically be at odds with one another. In one scene, Jeffrey sat with his legs stretched straight out in front of him, his elbows propped on the back of the bench on either side of him. He was looking at the camera with a wry grin, and Daisy was next to him, but standing behind the bench. She had her arms folded together atop the back, leaning forward, with one finger pressed against her lips and an eyebrow raised. He portrayed confidence while having no idea that the vigilante Quake was standing right behind him.

In another, Jeffrey was sitting with one ankle propped on his opposite knee, resting one elbow on the back of the bench and the other on his aloft knee, a newspaper in his hands. Conveniently, it was lifted just enough that perhaps he couldn't see Daisy sitting on the opposite end of the bench, or maybe he was peeking at her over the edge of the paper. She was leaning comfortably against the back of the bench, her legs crossed at the knee, a classic New York coffee cup in her hand as she gazed somewhere off camera, mostly turned away from him. In that shot they weren't really interacting at all, but Jeff liked the domesticity of the scene.

It was probably supposed to come across more like a secret agent following his mark, and maybe it did to other people, but Jeffrey still found it rather domestic.

Some of his favorite shots were probably ones that were ‘too friendly for Talbot’. He and Daisy more actively engaged with one another, and those were Jeffrey’s most frightening and most fun moments during the shoot. Occasionally Sharon had given them props to use, but other than that, she left them to their own devices, taking shots as they goofed off and talked. Occasionally she would ask them to hold still, or to reposition themselves slightly. Jeffrey tried his best to act natural, but he was constantly worried he was coming across as _too_  comfortable around Daisy.

He was entirely too comfortable around Daisy. After chatting for just a few hours Jeffrey felt like - although he didn't truly know a whole lot of personal detail about her - that he and Daisy have been friends for years. They quickly discovered they had the same sense of humor, though Daisy was a little more sarcastic than he was. He liked his puns, and they made her groan, but she would also give him a particular little smile that made him keep saying them.

There were a few times they would laugh together, leaning toward one another, or Daisy would reach out and touch her fingers against his knee, or his shoulder, or his arm. He wasn't sure whether or not it was just an image she was portraying, but the way she interacted with him was delightful. He only hoped he wasn't making a dork of himself in the meantime.

Sharon wanted a whole series of different poses of just the two of them, no scenes or props or anything, which made Jeffrey nervous all over again. At least goofing off with the props had distracted him from how close Daisy was, how gorgeous her smile was, how pretty she smelled, how her eyes lit up when she laughed…

By the end of it all, Sharon had one definite she wanted to choose for the main shot of the whole thing; Jeffrey with his hands casually in his pockets, laughing, and Daisy laughing next to him with her forearm propped on his shoulder, leaning just slightly into him. It seemed innocently friendly enough, but Jeffrey could only think about how right after this was taken, Daisy had turned her head toward him, pressing her forehead atop his shoulder as she laughed. Her breath had ghosted against his ear and neck, and made his skin tingle.

He was completely entranced.

“You two are fun. Thanks for putting up with all this today!” Sharon told them once they'd finished, and helped her gather her stuff together. “I've got the rest of this, no worries. I'll send everything to you guys for review, but I definitely think we've got plenty for your bosses to approve.”

“Well,” Daisy mused as they strolled into the hallway, “that wasn't so bad.”

“Were you expecting a horrible time?” Jeffrey wondered, half joking.

“No, no! I just…”

“Afraid it was going to be really awkward?” Jeffrey murmured knowingly, and she nodded hesitantly. He nodded as well, and smiled at her. “Honestly, I spent a lot of time trying not to fanboy next to you,” He admitted quietly.

She snorted.

“Are you _kidding_  you're The _Patriot_  for crying out loud…” She trailed off and he raised his eyebrows in surprise at her. “Not that I, I mean,” She huffed. “Fine, alright, the fangirling was happening from this direction, too,” She muttered, jutting her thumb at herself.

“You?” Jeffrey wondered incredulously. “Over _me_?”

They looked at one another for a moment, before they both started laughing again.

“Unreal,” Daisy grinned, shaking her head as she pressed her knuckle beneath her eye to halt the tear of amusement from falling down her face.

“Having fun?” Elena drawled, smiling widely as she led the group of the others to join Daisy and Jeffrey in the hall. Jeffrey spied his duffel once again in Mack’s hands, and he snagged it.

“I’ll be back.” He told them all as he headed toward the restrooms. “It’s, uh, a little warm in this thing.” He explained, tugging at the fabric of his sweater.

It was a _little_  warm, but that wasn’t why he was changing back into the green henley again. He was hoping maybe it would give Daisy an excuse to touch him again, maybe even hold his hand…

God, what was he, sixteen again?

**———**

 

Their table interviews went surprisingly well; granted, Mace spent a lot of the time answering simply “that’s classified”, so there wasn’t a whole lot they ended up actually being able to talk about.

It was nice hearing how his views coincided or contradicted with Daisy's, and he sat and listened with interest whenever she explained her differing view. She wasn’t used to that sort of reaction, and she definitely made sure to provide him the same benefit (even if she did sometimes think that he was thinking too much like a stuffy politician).

He’d wanted to take a walk, afterwards, and Daisy got the impression that for all the pomp and circumstance, he wasn’t actually all that comfortable with the crowds and the cameras. She snuck him easily through back corridors and stairwells out near the loading docks of the building, and walked with him down the street with his guys following at a distance.

She’d at least persuaded Elena and Joey to give her some space for a while; they knew she could more than take care of herself, and anyway, she had a feeling the two wanted to go discuss over drinks about how hot Mack was and what was to be done about it.

It was really weird, though, knowing that Phil Coulson’s eyes were on her back. It was familiar, and comfortable in a way, but that also made this whole thing even more weird.

And it eventually turned out that it wasn’t nearly the weirdest thing to happen today.

She did it without thinking. She would later blame it on that alluring shirt of his, but… Well, alright, a little thinking had been involved. After all, she first had to seek out a clothing store, grab Mace's arm, and tug him inside with her while another patron was leaving, slipping through the door before it could close.

“What are we,” Mace wondered, huffing a little amused and curious breath as she didn’t stop moving until they were hidden amongst racks of clothes.

His smile was just so warm and his eyes were soft and he was standing _right_   _there_ … so she tilted forward on her toes and planted one on him.

He was a bit taller than her, and the kiss was mostly unplanned, so her mouth landed more on his bottom lip. He didn't seem to mind, though; while briefly surprised (so was she), he leaned into it soon enough and kissed her back.

He was kissing her back - _shit_ , she was kissing _the_   _Patriot_.

He kept his hands at his sides, only touching her with the movement of his mouth, guiding her lips more directly against his own. He didn't protest when her fingers darted up his sleeve and over the soft fabric of his shirt, against his chest. One side of the unbuttoned collar was folded open, revealing a small patch of his neck and collarbone that was usually covered by a tie. Normally a totally unassuming piece of skin; her fingers were drawn to it as if it were magnetic, and she could feel how his pulse raced.

Wanting to see his face, she relaxed back onto her heels, watching him as he was slow to straighten. His eyes drifted open even more slowly, and even still he didn't pull all the way back. He continued to look surprised, but, he was also obviously pleased.

She smiled. As far as first kisses went - especially spur of the moment ones - that had been pretty damn nice. At least an eight out of ten, for sure. His expression afterwards probably made it a ten, though. He looked like she'd just given him the best thing ever.

His lip quirked in a distracted lopsided smile as he leaned forward again, his eyes on her mouth. She lifted her chin up to accept the next kiss, but the controlled scurry of dress shoes on linoleum told her that their tail had found them.

“What about this?” Daisy grabbed the item of clothing to her right and thrust it against Jeff’s chest, putting some space between them.

He grabbed at the hanger mostly in unconscious reaction, looking momentarily out of sorts, until he also realized that Mack and Coulson were nearing them.

“Uh, I don’t know,” He laughed hesitantly, cleared his throat, and tried again, “Don’t think pink is quite my color.”

It was a woman’s blouse. Daisy snatched it from him and returned it to the rack, playing it off as a joke,

“Maybe the blue one?” She urgently tried to will her blush off of her cheeks while she dug out the blue blouse from the rack.

“Oh, that’s much better.” Coulson remarked dryly from behind Daisy, watching them. She glanced back at him and gave him an apologetic grin. He looked mildly harried, but she could only tell because she knew him. Mack was rolling his eyes.

“For crying out loud,” He muttered, “If you wanted to window shop you didn’t have to freak us out like that,”

“Sorry, my fault,” Daisy breezed. “It was rather spontaneous.”

“Yeah.” Jeff remarked. “Spontaneous.”

Coulson’s eyes narrowed slightly in their direction, and Daisy cleared her throat and slapped her palms against her thighs.

“This place is too expensive, anyways. Let’s keep walking?” She half-suggested, glancing toward Jeff before leading the way back to the front doors.

“Sure, yeah.” Jeff agreed from behind her, his voice still a little airy, as if he were still trying to wrap his head around what had happened.

With the others at her back, now, Daisy let the wide smile break across her face, and just barely managed to hide the excited little dance that she desperately wanted to do.

She’d just kissed Jeffrey Mace. And it had been _awesome_.

**———**

  

> _**@Quake101** : Photo op with @SHIELDDirectorMace! Pics coming soon :)_

 

>   
>  _**@SHIELDDirectorMace** : Fan photos. Photoshoot with @Quake101. Another day at the con. Bedtime? Very soon! See you guys tomorrow!_

 

Joey was beside himself reading all of the various fan responses to both Daisy’s and Jeff’s tweets, much to Daisy’s chagrin.

“How was your getaway after the press event?” Elena wondered, her tone hiked up to a higher pitch as she teased Daisy.

“Shut up,” Daisy rolled her eyes as she lounged against the headboard of her bed, her legs crossed at the ankles and her phone in her hand.

“ _'I bet it was the cutest photoshoot ever!'_ ” Joey read, snorting. “Oh, ho, this one’s even better, in response to that: _‘Cute? You’re joking, right? My pants just fell off all on their own at such a sexy suggestion!’_ ”

“That’s not real.” Daisy protested, not really paying attention to his antics, and he sat on the edge of her bed, holding his phone up.

“It’s right here for all the world to see!” He insisted. “Also, there have been debates about whether Mace will partner up with you, or take you into SHIELD custody.” Daisy made a face at him; that was nothing new. “These have led to debates about the proper use of handcuffs.”

“That’s not real!” Daisy protested more urgently, dropping her own phone and reaching for his.

“Who are _you_  talking to?” Joey wondered, taking advantage of her distraction and snagging it from the duvet.

“No one,” She interrupted, immediately trading him back before he could get a look at the screen.

“Hmm,” He murmured dubiously, giving Elena a look.

“How was your getaway with Jeffrey Mace today?” Elena asked again, and Daisy huffed.

“I wouldn’t call it a getaway,” She muttered. “Had Mack and Coulson watching our every move, didn’t we?”

“Bummed about that, are ya?” Joey teased, and she kicked him. Her friends waited quietly, though. They knew her too well.

“He’s legitimately friendly, isn’t he?” Daisy mused, and Joey grinned widely.

“What did you talk about?” He wondered, the internet forgotten for a brief, rare moment.

“Just, stuff,” Daisy huffed. “Likes, dislikes, that sort of thing. We were just walking around!”

“Sounds like a date, to me.” Elena mused.

“I’m going for a swim,” Daisy announced pointedly, pushing Joey off of her bed so she could hop to her feet. Her suit was still hanging in the bathroom where she’d left it to dry the night before, so she shut herself inside and changed quickly. “And _no_ ,”

“Talking about Jeffrey Mace when you get back, got it,” Elena recited, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she and Joey sat across from one another at the table.

Daisy knew for certain that they would theorize and whatever while she was gone, but she forced that thought away as she snagged a room key on her way out.

She swam for maybe just a half hour or so before the long day caught up with her, and she slipped her long t-shirt on overtop her bathing suit before padding down the hall toward the elevators.

She was drying her hair a bit with the towel so didn’t see who sidled nearby not long after she’d pressed the call button, but the person wasn’t exuding any weird vibrations so she didn’t worry about it. Just another late-night wanderer.

“Uh, hey.”

“Holy-!” She exclaimed, jumping and pulling the towel away from her head. “Jeff?”

He smiled sheepishly, and stepped a little closer now that she knew who he was, and she noticed how slow he was to drag his eyes up from her bare feet back toward her face.

“Didn’t know you were staying here,” He commented, and hastily added, “Granted, a lot of the convention people are staying here. Makes sense, I guess…” He glanced at her attire again.

“Went for a swim,” She thought to explain, though that was more than obvious with her wet hair and the towel in her hands. “What are you doing roaming about at this hour?” She asked cheekily, and his smile was even more sheepish now.

“I, uh, got kind of hungry. Hit up the vending machine.” He lifted up his bottle of Gatorade and health bar. “Unfortunately, not allowed to have any unhealthy snacks.”

“You mean, not allowed to have any of the _good_  snacks,” Daisy corrected, and he laughed. If she slipped a smudge closer to him because of that, well, there was no one standing around to notice. He looked tired, but that sleepy happiness on his face made him even more attractive all of a sudden.

Maybe Daisy needed sleep, too.

“The guys let you out on your own?” Daisy mused teasingly, looking around for one or both of his shadows. Jeff huffed an amused noise and scratched the back of his neck.

“Uh, Phil's around the corner,” He admitted. “We came down here because this is the one that’s got anything vaguely healthy, but Phil’s struggling with the machine letting him have his chocolate donuts.” Daisy laughed, and Jeff rolled his eyes. “I told him to just pick something else, but he’s insistent. So I’m here, holding the elevator,” Jeff gestured toward it just as the door ‘dinged’ and opened up.

They stepped inside, and Jeff put his finger on the ‘open’ button. After a few seconds, Daisy glanced at him.

“How long do you think he’ll be? These things don’t hold forever, you know.” She pointed out, and he sighed and nodded.

“Maybe I’ll just wait for the next one? I don’t want to hold you up,” He started to step back out of the elevator, but Daisy snatched her hand out and grabbed onto his arm.

“Let’s wait it out and see.” She suggested hurriedly, putting her own finger on the ‘open’ button now. He hesitated but stepped back to his previous spot, and she let her hand drift off of his arm.

He was still wearing that super soft henley.

“What are your plans tomorrow?” She wondered, shifting the towel across her shoulder so it was more securely draped around her neck.

“It’s kind of open? As far as I know, it’s a free day I can explore the convention, take photos with the fans, that sort of thing. I mean, nothing sanctioned like the photo op this morning. Just… casual, I guess.”

He sounded extremely shy; as if they were first meeting again, and they hadn’t spent most of the day in one another’s company. Daisy found that curious, and a bit endearing.

“You want to play hooky?” She offered, even lowering her voice a little, though there was no one to hear them.

“Excuse me?” Jeff wondered, not sure he’d heard her right.

“Skip out,” Daisy clarified, “Explore the city with me.”

“With…” He started to repeat her, but trailed off. He also looked incredibly interested in the idea.

“Hey, I got em! Told you I would!” Coulson appeared around the corner, quietly crowing in success. He hesitated in surprise when he noticed Daisy was there as well, and that the both of them were already standing inside the elevator. “Daisy?” Coulson wondered curiously, and completely on a whim, she dropped her hand from the panel.

The doors started to close, and Jeff glanced at her.

“I should,”

She grabbed his arm to keep him from slipping between the doors to join Coulson, and he noticeably did not fight at all against her hold.

“He can grab the next one.” She said, and Jeff glanced back toward Coulson just before the doors closed them inside. “So,” Daisy removed her hand from him again and grinned a little as she asked, “How early do you think you’d have to get up to get away from Moe and Curly?” Jeff smirked at her joke.

“Pretty early. Five o’clock early, probably.” He replied, and as he started to think more on her suggestion, he seemed to lose his shyness.

“Alright…” Daisy considered. It’d be practically impossible for her to get away from Elena, the light sleeper that she was, but her friend could be bribed… “Say we meet in the lobby around 5:15?”

“Okay,” Jeff breathed out his answer as if he couldn’t believe what was transpiring right now, and Daisy touched his arm again as she noticed the elevator numbers slowly but steadily getting closer to her floor.

“Hey,” She said, and when Jeff looked down at her, she lifted up on her toes (she had to stretch a little further than before, now that she was barefoot) and kissed him.

This time, it was direct, and intent, and Jeff didn’t hesitate at all.

Actually, even though she’d initiated it, Daisy was the one surprised; Jeff leaned down slightly to drop his goodies onto the floor and then he walked her toward the side wall, his hand sliding through her wet hair to protect the back of her head as he pressed her up against the elevator.

He nudged his whole body against hers as he deepened the kiss, and she hadn’t realized before just how broad he was, but now she had her own hands sliding over his shoulders and across his back.

She also discovered that he hadn’t been _shy_ , necessarily - he’d been trying to hide his arousal. The hard bulge in his jeans pressed against her abdomen and she touched her tongue into his mouth, wanting him to know he wasn’t the only one feeling rather feisty right now.

Their panting breaths seemed to become jarringly loud when the elevator began to slow, and Daisy just barely managed to gentle their kissing in time, pulling her head back with great effort. Jeff followed her for a moment, stealing another kiss, before he acknowledged the elevator settling.

His hands were still in her hair, and he leaned his forehead against hers for a moment, as they heard the elevator doors ding open.

“My floor,” Daisy managed to tell him, fiddling with the front of his shirt with her fingers. He sighed quietly.

“Alright.” He murmured, and carefully removed his hands from her before stepping back a few paces.

She tucked her hair behind her ear and tugged at the hem of her tee to make sure it covered her decently as she slipped around him and out into the hall.

“5:15?” He checked, and she turned around to smile widely at him.

“5:15.” She agreed, realizing too late just how mussed his hair was and how red his mouth was. He absolutely looked like he’d just been making out with somebody.

“Okay,” He nodded, let out a heavy controlled breath, and bent to retrieve his forgotten snacks. “Okay.” He returned her grin when he looked up at her again, the elevator doors closing.

She stared at the closed doors for a good long minute, until she started feeling cold in her still-damp bathing suit. It was difficult to school her face before opening her room door, but she gave herself a minute until she was sure she wasn’t grinning like a dork anymore.

“Hey, chica.” Elena greeted from around the corner, not yet seeing Daisy but knowing it was her. “How was your swim?”

“It was great. Just what I needed.” Daisy replied, proud with herself at how calm and collected her voice sounded.

* * *

 


	4. Chapter 4

“She kissed me, and I… I was thrilled.” Jeffrey admitted, mildly unsure of how Phil would take this. He used to know her after all, and worked closely with her. “It… I was ready to agree to anything, I think.”

Phil smirked, though he also folded his arms across his chest.

“Well, let’s be glad she didn’t ask you to start World War III, then.” Phil remarked wryly. “So, you ditched your security team with no notice or word so you could explore the city with your new girlfriend, thinking hoodies and jeans would keep the two of you under the radar?” Phil raised his eyebrow as Jeffrey sheepishly ducked his head.

A couple of photos, badly angled where there faces were barely recognizable, had circulated through social media, and a lot of their fans boosted the views until it had gained Joey's attention. That was how Phil finally figured out what Jeffrey had been doing all day; Joey had sent him a heads up, and now Phil was confronting Jeffrey as he snuck back into his hotel room as if he were an unruly teenager.

Well, he was certainly dressed the part, wasn't he? Jeffrey sighed at himself.

“If you're asking if I regret today, I absolutely don't.” Although he may later regret his clothing choices, ‘undercover’ or not. “And she’s not my girlfriend,” He protested entirely too late.

“Hey, I'm not going to stand here and mother you.” Phil held his hands up, and then gave Jeffrey a look. “Only to mention that you've needed to take a break for a long time, and I think this was good for you.”

“You… you're proud of me for ditching Talbot?” Jeffrey wondered incredulously, and Phil smirked again.

“I can't wait to see his face when he sees you've been hanging out with Daisy Johnson.”

“Oh, hell.”

“And Jeff?”

“Yeah?” Jeffrey sighed, figuring he’d heard the brunt of it by this point.

“Even before this, I knew something happened between the two of you. If you want to keep it a secret, maybe watch it with the PDA.” Phil raised his eyebrow again, pointedly, and Jeffrey frowned at him. Before he could argue, Phil added, “The two of you sneak into an elevator together,”

“We didn’t sneak!” Jeffrey protested.

“And when I see you in the hotel room your shirt is damp with pool water _Daisy_  swam in, and your hair a mess,” Phil paused as Jeffrey blushed, and added with a glint in his eye, “Plus, you talk in your sleep.”

“I do not!” Jeffrey protested even more vehemently, but his blush darkened significantly, and Phil chuckled. Jeffrey hesitated for a beat. “Are you okay with this? I mean, _you_?”

“I appreciate you asking,” Phil replied honestly, “but that doesn’t matter.” Jeffrey blinked at him, and he added, “As your friend, hell yes, I’ve been saying you needed to get laid for months now,”

“We haven’t -!” Jeffrey couldn’t even finish that one, gaping at Phil.

“As Daisy’s previous mentor... I know who you are Jeff, and you’re a good guy. I’ve met some of her previous ones and… well, I’m not her father and I don’t want to be but when it comes to her friend approving of her choices, you’re the first one I’ve really liked.”

“What about your opinion as a SHIELD agent?” Jeffrey asked, his tone knowing. Because he already knew, but Phil also knew that Jeffrey needed to hear it out loud.

“As a SHIELD agent, and as a previous Director, this has the potential to be a horrible, horrible idea. Right now, she’s rogue. If and when people find out about the two of you, all of her choices will now be connected to you, regardless if you’re actually involved in her choices at all. Should she join SHIELD again, she will then be one of your agents, and there is potential for compromised issues there, as well. Politically, people may start to twist your words and thoughts even more than before, and say you’re just placating your girlfriend, or that she’s the only Inhuman you really care about, or - even that _she's_  just a part of the image your portraying as compassionate toward Inhumans.”

Jeffrey nodded along in understanding as Phil spoke. He’d considered all these points, himself.

“Phil?”

“Yeah, Jeff.”

“I think I’m in love with her.”

“I know, Jeff.” Phil sighed, patted his friend on the shoulder, and went to sit down in front of his computer.

“I can work with Joey and we can get ahead of a lot of this media stuff. Even help hide your relationship - _whatever_  it is - from the public, as much as we can.” Phil glanced up to give him another warning look. “Please don’t keep making that hard for us.”

“Understood.” Jeffrey smiled wryly.

"And from now on, _do not_  disappear with only a _'don't call out a BOLO, I'm fine'_ note. That was too damn vague and you still had us worried. You aren't just a reporter anymore, Jeffrey. You're the Director of SHIELD. Sudden disappearances could mean kidnapping or assassination."

"Sorry, Mom and Dad." Jeffrey told him dryly, glancing over to where Mack was sitting quietly at the table by the window, his arms folded across his chest. He rolled his eyes at his boss.

"Even before Joey forwarded us the photos he'd found, I figured you were with Daisy. Elena told me that she went out early this morning - probably around the same time you'd slipped out."

"Oh, 'Elena told you', huh?" Jeffrey teased, and Phil smirked.

"They're quite chummy." Phil commented, and Mack narrowed his eyes at them both.

"We're supposed to be reprimanding Mace, here, not gossiping about my - friends." Mack retorted, and Jeffrey snorted.

"Friends," He repeated dryly, and Coulson's grin widened in amusement.  


**———**

 

> _**@Quake101** : Last day of the conference in the books! You guys, this was **amazing**. I am humbled and inspired. Next up is a podcast covering the event. Hit me up with any questions you'd like me to answer in the episode._

  
After posting the tweet, Daisy opened up her messaging app and texted Jeff.

_\- Didn't see you today_

She was trying not to be too disappointed by that, but she was leaving bright and early in the morning to head back to her current home base. With their particular vocations, she highly doubted she'd be seeing him again any time soon. Not in any sort of situation that wouldn’t end up with him sending agents after her or something, to keep up the pretense.

_\- I'm sorry. Had an emergency work thing._

She smiled wryly to herself, able to picture many of the emergencies that could've come up. She used to be an agent, after all. She understood his vagueness about it, though. Another message from him came through before she could reply to the first one.

_\- I wish I could see you now_

She held her breath for a moment as she read his text. She knew what she wanted, but... She looked up at her two friends sitting side-by-side on the other bed, both watching Joey's phone as people responded to Daisy's tweet.

"Hey." Daisy sat up and swung her legs over the side of her bed, facing them.

"What's up?" Joey asked distractedly, as he then grinned and Elena laughed aloud at something they read. "You gotta see some of these responses, girl, they are - "

"Can you two like, give me a few hours?" Daisy asked, and they both turned their focus entirely toward her.

" _A few hours_?" Joey repeated in surprise.

"Yeah," Daisy stood up and reached for Elena's bag, tossing it onto the foot of their bed. "Go get ice-cream or whatever."

"For a few _hours_?" Elena wondered incredulously. "What in the world for?" As soon as she asked that, Joey's expression narrowed and he smiled. He got to his feet, nudging at Elena.

"I gotcha. Sure, chica. Just text me when it's a good time for us to come back." He tugged his shoes on, picking up Elena's bag when she was slow to follow him. Then she realized why Daisy was asking them to give her the room, and she smiled widely.

"Oh, sister, I will eat ice-cream all night long if it means you're gonna get some - !"

" _Okay_ , Elena," Joey interrupted before she could finish her sentence, and Elena wriggled her eyebrows as she slipped her flats on and tugged her bag from Joey's hands. "We'll see you," Joey called out, the both of them practically tripping over themselves to leave the room now.

Daisy rolled her eyes at them, but then stood there for a moment as she gathered her resolve. When she picked up her phone from the bed, she had another text waiting for her.

_\- Sorry if that was inappropriate, I didn't realize how late it was_

Daisy frowned at that, and quickly typed a reply before she could talk herself out of it,

_\- Come down to my room. 304._

_\- What about Joey and Elena?_

_\- They're out getting ice-cream or something._

The little ellipses popped up that he was writing something, but then it went away without a message appearing. When that happened again without him actually sending any text, Daisy sent,

_\- They take a LONG time to eat ice-cream. Hours, really. It's ridiculous._

_\- I'm on my way._

Daisy immediately grinned at that, and clenched her phone tightly in her hand. Then she looked about the room and jumped up off her bed again, quickly trying to put it in a little more order. There were still empty take-out containers littering the table and the dresser around the television, and she quickly scooped those into the trash.

She couldn't believe her fingers were shaking, like she was some teenager hooking up for the first time or something, and she paused to take a few deep, calming breaths.

Five minutes later, there was a quiet knock on her door. She wiped her palms on her shorts and quickly went to let him in; hopefully no one saw him hanging around in front of the room. He slipped around the barely-opened door quickly, probably having the same idea, and Daisy promptly forgot thinking about anyone else.

He was wearing a t-shirt with his zip-up hoodie over it, and he looked absolutely exhausted, but his eyes were bright and happy and zeroed in on her when she closed and locked the door.

"Hi." He said softly, and she smiled slowly.

"Hi," She replied, reaching for the ends of his jacket, tugging him closer. He kissed her gently, his hands settling on her waist, and she tried to follow his lead and relax. Even though she knew they had some time, she still felt desperate to kiss him as much as she could before something inevitably interrupted them.

Nothing did end up interrupting, though. They kissed until it began to grow more heated, his fingers gripping her a little more tightly and his tongue dipping in to explore her mouth. She blindly guided him further into the room, pushing at his hoodie until he removed his hands from her so he could shrug it off. It landed on Joey’s bed, but she kept them moving until the backs of Jeff’s knees hit her bed.

“Daisy,” He breathed, only then breaking their kiss. “We should probably,”

“There’s a lot of things we _should_  do, Jeffrey.” Daisy interrupted him carefully, resting her hands atop his shoulders as she gave him a serious look. She was mostly distracted by his mouth, still, but she wanted him to know that she was thinking of the repercussions of this just as much as he was. “I like you. I _really_  like you. And I want... I want you. I want all of you but right now this is all we’ve got. And I don’t want to leave tomorrow morning regretting that I didn’t take a chance tonight.”

“That’s... pretty much what I tried to tell myself on my way up here.” Jeff admitted. "It's difficult to turn my SHIELD brain off sometimes, you know?"

"I do know." Daisy smiled slowly, and gently urged him to sit on the edge of the bed. She could hardly believe what was happening as she moved to straddle him, and by his expression as his hands slid down her lower back, he was thinking the same. “This is crazy,” She admitted with a breathless laugh, a little amazed as she brushed her fingers against the back of his head. “But I know I won’t regret it.”

“Geez, that doesn’t give me performance anxiety at all.” He joked sarcastically, and she smirked a little at him, and leaned in more firmly against his chest, settling her hips over his. She rubbed a little against him, already feeling his beginnings of arousal in his trousers, and raised her eyebrow.

“Either way,” She drawled, as if he had no effect on her whatsoever (though her heart was definitely beating hard right now), “I don’t regret kissing you, or kicking my friends out of the room so I could _really_  kiss you.”

He hummed musingly, and lifted his chin to kiss her softly on the lips.

“I would never regret kissing you, either.” He whispered between kisses.

Eventually he leaned back onto the mattress, pulling her down with him, and she stopped worrying about their future.  


**———**

 

A little high on endorphins and full of energy, Daisy wanted to go for a walk. Jeff agreed with little persuasion on her part, apparently with a newfound bout of energy himself. They got redressed in a moment of shy smiles and giggles that made Daisy feel like she was a high-schooler, again, and tugged ball caps low on their heads. Jeff had to borrow one of Joey's, and he wasn't entirely pleased to sport the Giants logo, but relented at the fact at least no one would know that it was him wearing it.

"Let me guess; boy from Brooklyn? You're a Mets fan, aren't you." Daisy smirked, and Jeff gave her an indignant look.

"What's the tone!" He protested, and she laughed a little as she checked that she had her room key before closing the door behind them.

"Hey, I'm not a big fan of the Giants either," She consoled, waited until he appeared to relax, and then continued, "Haven't really been into sports in a long time, but I've been to a Yankees game or two."

Jeff groaned in lament, and Daisy laughed as she tucked her arm around his, leaning against him as they stepped into the elevator.

"Wait a minute, you're just teasing me." He figured. "How could you even afford that?"

"I was a hacker before I was a vigilante, remember?" She raised her eyebrow, and he nodded.

"Right. Was that when Phil hired you?" He wondered, and her expression closed off immediately. He noticed her tense up, of course, and frowned at himself. Clearly he hadn't meant to cause that reaction, but it was her natural reaction to any mention of her time as an agent. "Sorry," He started to apologize.

"No, no, it's..." It wasn't exactly 'fine', and she didn't want to lie to him about the way she felt. "Yes, Coulson had been impressed by my abilities. He was impressed by more than that, too, though." She gazed thoughtfully at the door in front of her as she remembered those years. "He saw a lot in me that I hadn't even been able to see, myself. He taught me a lot."

"You sound fond of him." Jeff noted wistfully, and Daisy glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't be jealous."

"I'm not!" He protested. She smiled a little, not believing him, and he drew his arm from hers only to wrap it firmly around her waist and hold her against him. " _You're_  the one I'm sneaking out at night with, not him," He pointed out, and Daisy raised both of her eyebrows at him in surprise.

"I thought you were jealous of _him_ , not of _me_!" She laughed, and he blushed indignantly.

"Whatever." He muttered, which wasn't really a response. She decided not to press the topic.

They kept their heads low as they exited on the lobby floor, but the person waiting for the elevator paid them no attention as they brushed by one another. When Jeff attempted to head toward the front exit, though, Daisy tugged him in the opposite direction.

"This way," She urged, guiding him toward the side exit that was mostly used by employees. The hotel was excellent about discretion, but she didn't feel like overhearing the lobby boys and girls gossiping about them anymore than their fans.

They meandered aimlessly for ten or so minutes, as Jeff told her amusing stories from his childhood, and didn't press her about hers. She did appreciate that, for the most part, but a small part of her was a bit disappointed by it.

"Why don't you ask me about my younger years?" She asked curiously, and he looked uncomfortable.

"I don't want you thinking that it's the Director of SHIELD asking. I didn't want you to think that I'm just gathering intel."

"Pff, well, what if _I'm_  gathering intel?" She pointed out.

"I haven't told you anything that I don't mind the media discovering." He replied quickly, a little haughtily, and she smirked.

"Good to know," She mused, "I'll remember that when I tell TMZ that you used to run around your house butt-naked wearing nothing but an old baby blanket as a cape,"

"Hey, now!" He protested. " _That_  was said in confidence!" She laughed, pressing her cheek fondly against his shoulder. His vibrations were soothing, in a way that reminded her a bit of her mentor, but also in another way. Something much more intimate.

She didn't want to name it.

"What is your opinion on pizza?" She wondered.

"Ah, I miss good pizza." He sighed, daydreaming. She nudged him with her elbow, and pointed to a neon sign that was still blazing brightly, across the street.

"Twenty-four Seven Slice!" She read aloud. "C'mon," She tugged him toward the crosswalk.

"I don't know..." He walked with her pretty easily, however, and his tone was more hopeful. "Maybe just one."

"Diets are lame. _I_  don't even diet, _that_  much. Hasn't anyone ever told you about Inhuman metabolism?"

"No," He sounded suspicious now, and as if he'd been betrayed. "What about it?"

"I mean, we still gotta get our vitamins and minerals, of course," She gestured her hand vaguely in the air. "But we don't tend to store unhealthy fats or anything like other people do. Haven't you ever noticed how _starving_  you are after using your powers? It can actually get pretty bad if we don't eat enough during the day!"

"I... I'm going to sue Dr. Simmons." He glowered. "Make her do paperwork for a month. Two months! I've been betrayed!"

"C'mon," She patted his chest fondly as she chuckled at his antics. "You can have _two_  slices, and I won't tell anyone."

They ordered two slices each, and sat at one of the bar-height tables by the window as they ate. Daisy propped her foot up on the bar of his chair, and he kept his leg firmly against hers, as if he didn't want to stop touching her even for a second. She was totally cool with that.

He moaned in delight as he took his first bite, and she couldn't help but laugh around her own mouthful.

“That’s the second time I’ve heard you moan like that tonight.” Daisy mused innocently, tugging a long string of cheese between her teeth until it broke, eating it and touching her fingers to her tongue, cleaning them off. Jeff gave her a hooded look, and smirked.

“There are two things in this world right now that make me feel... overjoyed,” He admitted, half-serious and half-joking, “You, and cheese.”

She laughed again, trying to ignore the way her heart stuttered, and then reached forward to press her thumb against the corner of his mouth, brushing sauce off of his skin. It was a casually intimate gesture that she hadn’t even considered, until his expression softened and warmed. He reached for her hand after she’d wiped it on a napkin, holding onto it atop the table almost thoughtfully.

“Do we have time to go back to your room?” He wondered softly. Daisy slowly smiled, and nodded.

"Maybe you could reenact your little kid years of running around in nothing but a cape," She teased, and he pressed his lips tightly together, but couldn't keep his answering smirk away.  


**———**

 

“.... I should go.” He whispered, though they both still lay there on her bed for a moment, staring at the ceiling. Eventually, Daisy sighed and nodded, and sat up to search for her clothes. They'd barely made it totally through the door before they'd started undressing each other. She tugged her underwear on and then spied Jeff’s hoodie laying forgotten on the end of Joey’s bed. She grinned coyly at Jeff as he pulled his boxers on, sliding to her feet and shrugging his hoodie over her arms, zipping it up until it covered her breasts.

“Can I hold on to this?” She asked softly, and he smiled and nodded, getting to his feet as well and pulling her into an embrace. She pressed her cheek against his chest and he nuzzled her hair and kissed her head, rubbing his thumbs against her arms soothingly. After another minute, she tried to step away but he tightened his hold on her, dropping his head to press his nose against the slope of her neck.

"I don't want to leave." He admitted, mumbling against her skin, and she slid one of her hands around the nape of his neck, scraping her nails through the ends of his hair.

"You have to, Director." She reminded him of his duty, though she didn't want him to leave either, and he sighed heavily but then nodded against her. It still took him another minute to let her go, but he did, and turned to pull on the rest of his clothes. Daisy gathered the rest of hers as well, though she merely stuffed them into her duffel bag so it wouldn't be _as_  awkward when Joey and Elena came back.

When he was once more put together, they stood in front of one another just behind the door, both of them hesitating again. Daisy rested her hands on either side of his face, and smiled encouragingly.

"The next time we meet might be under different circumstances." She admitted with mild disappointment, and he nodded within her grasp.

"I promise I won't try to arrest you." He lightly joked, and she chuckled, not entirely believing him. In the end, Talbot would do what Talbot wanted. She brushed her thumbs against Jeff's cheeks, and then kissed him deeply. He returned the kiss and didn't try to make it more than what it was, which she was grateful for. Otherwise he'd never leave the room.

"And I promise I'll try not to do _too_  much to make your job more difficult."

"Hey, while the Director of SHIELD may not agree with you Robin Hood-ing Hydra funds to help needy Inhumans, Jeffrey is all for it."

"Don't say that in mixed company," She raised her eyebrow, and he smiled and nodded. She lowered her hands, but he grabbed onto one of them and held her hand firmly for a moment. He just stared at her, and then leaned in to kiss her again quickly.

"Bye." He murmured, his nose still close enough to brush against hers. She kissed him again, before returning,

"Bye."

Slowly he eventually did step away, letting go of her hand and opening the door. He turned back to give her a boyish grin, and waited until she smiled back before he stepped into the hall and let the door close between them. Daisy leaned her back against the door and closed her eyes, unable to stop smiling now.

She knew that was only a temporary goodbye.

And, damn it, that had been way more than just a weekend fling. She was screwed.  


**———**

 

"Cute." Mack muttered dryly as he sat next to Jeffrey in the back of the SUV, casually perusing his social media feed with him. They had quite a long drive back to HQ, and were deciding what would be appropriate for the next few posts Jeffrey would make.

"What's cute?" Phil wondered from the driver's seat, glancing in the rear-view mirror. "I wanna see!"

"You're driving," Jeffrey replied, but Mack snagged his phone from his hands and shifted forward to the edge of his seat, stretching to hold the phone within Phil's field of vision.

It was a picture Daisy had posted on Instagram not long ago, a nighttime shot of the both of them halfway covering up one another's faces with each other's hand. He'd taken his hat off because he hadn't wanted any documentation whatsoever of him wearing a Giants cap; his dad wouldn't have ever let him forget it. Daisy'd removed hers, too, but had pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt, snuggling into it before he'd suggested a photo.

She'd taken one of their first meeting, back at the hoagie shop. He'd wanted one of his own in the pizza shop. He'd sent her a copy, which was how she had one to post online. She'd asked him for permission before posting, too, which he appreciated. She'd apparently done some kind of computer thing to remove all the geotagging from the photo, so any of their more experienced followers couldn't tell when or where the photo had actually been taken.

He was quite impressed by her. And he loved the way she looked wearing his hoodie.

"That _is_  cute." Phil commented, and Jeffrey rolled his eyes and nudged at Mack.

"Come on, give it back."

"When was this? Last night, or when you snuck out like an unruly teenager?" Mack wondered, settling back into his seat and passing the phone over.

"So you don't care about keeping your relationship a secret?" Phil asked before Jeffrey could reply to Mack.

"We're _friends_ ," Jeffrey insisted, and both men snorted in disagreement, loudly. Jeffrey frowned, but continued with indignation, "There's nothing particularly romantic about this photo at all! Of course I don't mind it."

"Political pundits might disagree." Mack drawled.

"Fuck em." Jeffrey glowered, and saw the way Phil and Mack shared a look through the rear-view mirror. "I'm allowed to be friendly! Even toward people I might not totally agree with! Which, when it comes to Daisy, isn't even - "

"Don't finish that sentence." Phil interrupted. "I want to have plausible deniability." Jeffrey huffed, but leaned back against his seat and turned to look out the window. "Just remember what I said about being Director, and being Jeffrey." Phil reminded softly.

"I know, I know." Jeffrey sighed. Still, he clicked the 'like' button on Daisy's photo. After musing over an appropriate reply to post (none of which were anything near what he'd really like to say), he eventually spoke up again, "So either of you want to help me figure out what to comment, that's friendly-but-appropriate?"

"Sure," Mack smirked, leaning over to look at the phone with him again. "I'll help ya out, lover-boy."

* * *

 


	5. Chapter 5

The General ended up being happy enough about the publicity photos, and didn't have any comments on the others that Daisy or Jeff had posted. The particularly-focused YouTuber had indeed added various bits to his "Quake & The Patriot 2K18", but it seemed directed toward the two of them partnering up on operations and was innocent enough that Jeffrey didn't concern himself over it.

And actually, as the weeks turned to months after the 'symposium' event, Jeffrey occasionally turned back to the video, when it was late and he was missing her. He didn't tell anyone about this habit of his, of course.

Her new podcasts were often enlightening, sometimes frustrating. They still didn't always agree on tactics and Jeffrey wished he could have a discourse with her. Even if neither of them changed their minds afterwards, he still wanted to know more about why she thought what she thought. Why she made that particular decision, or said that particular comment.

In fact, other than occasional words passed through Mack and Elena (who were quite frequently in contact, now), Jeffrey didn't have any interaction with Daisy at all until almost five months after the 'symposium'.

"Wires are old-school," Fitz explained in distaste as he settled the glasses over the bridge of Jeffrey's nose. He tapped the side corner, peering closely, and then glanced over at the technician standing in front of his computer. "Visuals?" He checked, gesturing with his hand.

"Clear." The technician nodded. "Audio is good, too." He tapped the headphones over his ears and gave a thumbs up. Fitz nodded, and tapped the side of the glasses again, turning the microscopic camera off.

"Just remember to turn that on once you sit down. Just act like you're adjusting them. We'll be monitoring you the entire time, and I'll be standing by in the kitchen with our agents in case you need backup." Phil informed Jeffrey, standing nearby with his arms casually folded across his chest. He was dressed in a white shirt and bow-tie, appearing as a waiter in case anyone associated with the Watchdogs saw him hanging around.

"Yeah, got it," Jeffrey nodded, checking the cuffs of his shirt beneath his suit jacket. "I'm just meeting with one of the most important people in the Watchdog organization. What could go wrong?"

"Don't jinx us." Simmons muttered, pushing a few packets of something into Phil's hands. "Take these. Blood-clotting powder. Just in case."

"Seriously?" Jeffrey raised his eyebrow as Phil dutifully tucked the first-aid into one of his trouser pockets. Simmons narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a look that she only got away with because she was also his doctor.

"I know your propensity to get shot, Director Mace."

"That was _one time_!" Jeffrey protested, but his team ignored him. "Okay, one and a _half_ ," He relented.

"How does someone get shot a half a time?" Fitz wondered.

"I'd rather not discuss it." Jeffrey muttered, and Phil failed to completely hide his amusement. "Okay, come on let's go. Last thing we need is for me to be late to the first ever parlay between SHIELD and The Watchdogs."

He was supposedly meeting one of the top head honchos, maybe even the numero uno himself-or-herself, to attempt a neutral-ground discussion of differing beliefs. Jeffrey, maybe stupidly, still harbored the idea that the Watchdogs could be persuaded that Inhumans weren't as bad as they think they are. He'd heard rumor that the head of the Watchdogs used to be a SHIELD agent, so maybe they could be reverted back.

This would be his chance to find out.

"I still think this is the most asinine idea you've had yet." Phil commented straight-forwardly, not for the first time, while they were riding in the car to the restaurant where the meeting would take place.

"Yeah, I know." Jeffrey replied, furrowing his brow as he resettled the glasses over the bridge of his nose.

"Stop fussing. You don't want to call attention to the glasses." Phil ordered him. "You look like you're not used to wearing them."

"I'm not!" Jeffrey protested, and Phil slapped his hand away from his face anyway.

"They don't know that!"

"When has there ever been a photo or video of me wearing glasses? They're gonna be suspicious."

"Tell them they're reading glasses."

"Phil?" Jeffrey sobered after a moment, and Phil could tell by his tone of voice that he was nervous.

"It'll be fine," Phil assured him confidently. "You're great at pretending - just act like this is any other interview with people who _aren't_  gunning for your life. Besides, I've got your back. I'll be close by."

Jeffrey nodded a little, comforted by that.

He arrived at the restaurant before his mysterious companion, either that or The Watchdogs wanted to case him out first. He leaned more toward the latter, but acted calm as he requested a table somewhat closer to the kitchen door. For all he knew, there were Watchdog goons hiding back there as well, but he had to trust Phil to both cover him and protect himself. He couldn't be worried about his own people and also focus on the conversation that would be happening.

He was only sitting for what felt like less than five minutes when someone slid into the chair on his left. It was not who he had expected.

"You?!" He exclaimed quietly, staring at Daisy in amazement. She touched her finger briefly to her lips as she shifted the chair a little closer to his, and then rested her hand atop his arm and smiled warmly. She leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss against his cheek, lingering there for a moment.

"Why are you here?" She asked quickly, speaking lowly and barely moving her lips. Her presence made him shiver; he both loved it and was immediately concerned by it. "This place could get really dangerous here in a few minutes."

"You're tracking them," Jeffrey realized, and she squeezed his arm in confirmation. He turned to look at her, their noses very close to touching. It would appear to outsiders as if they were having intimate conversation. Looking at her directly now, his breath was taken away by her beauty. Her dress was deep purple and gorgeous, her hair was done up in a fancy swoop, and her make-up seemed flawless. He was amazed by her, amazed that she was sitting here so close to him after months of not speaking to her.

Suddenly he heard the click of a photo, and his gaze darted away from her, seeking out the sound. He narrowed his eyes at the young man that was pointing his phone in their direction, and he slowly lowered it, looking apologetic but not ashamed.

"They're going to think we're on a date," Jeffrey scolded gently, and Daisy looked down at her hand resting on his arm, before sliding it down to settled atop the back of his hand, tucking her fingers beneath his palm.

"Holding hands on top of the table? So confidently out in public? They're going to think that we've _been_  dating." She pointed out, and he heard another photo snapped. He pursed his lips in annoyance, and shook his head once toward the reporter or fan or whatever he was. 'No more', his expression clearly said, and the man nodded and tucked his phone back into his pocket.

"I'm here for something of a parlay," Jeffrey explained quickly, keeping his eyes on the room to make sure their conversation wouldn't suddenly be interrupted by the enemy. "Perhaps a negotiation,"

"Are you insane?!" She hissed, clearly appalled. "You're an Inhuman! He's just looking for the perfect chance to take you down!"

"He?" Jeffrey jumped on the pronoun. "So it's a he. The head leader?"

"Fuck you don't know anything about the guy and you're _meeting_  him _alone_." Daisy groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose as if he was giving her a headache. "I am definitely staying."

"Are you kidding me," He returned, "They'll recognize you a mile away,"

"Yeah and they're less likely to try anything when I'm here to keep an eye on your food and drink. I can't imagine they'd try anything extremely violent given the venue, and hopefully I'll dissuade him from poisoning you." She furrowed her brow curiously, and reached up to touch the edge of his glasses, unknowingly turning the camera on. "What's with the specs?" She wondered.

" _Daisy_?!" Phil exclaimed over the com set in Jeffrey's ear.

"It's a part of the disguise. Visual back-up." Jeffrey murmured to the both of them.

"My, SHIELD must be getting good funding now for such goodies to play with." Daisy mused.

"If I find out that you've somehow planned for this, Jeffrey, you and I are going to _have words_  when we get back to base," Phil warned hotly. Jeffrey must've made a face, because Daisy's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Who's on coms with you? Is it Phil? It's Phil, isn't it. I can tell by the face you're making." She gestured at him, and he quickly schooled his features.

"How are we going to play this?" He whispered, trying to relax and focus on his menu. Daisy's hand slid over his knee, and squeezed supportively.

"Company at twelve o'clock. Guess we'll wing it." She replied lightly, and reached over with her other hand to point at one of the fish meals on the menu, speaking loudly enough for their new company to hear, "You should order that. You'd love it."

He was still distracted by her hand on his knee.

"Well. I am a little surprised by this. But maybe I shouldn't be." The man's voice drew Jeffrey's attention back into focus, and he looked up toward the man standing by the chair across from them. Jeffrey didn't recognize him, and Daisy didn't seem to either. He was an older man, still well-fit, though Jeffrey noted that he stood somewhat oddly, as if the weight of his own body was unfamiliar to him. His hair was cropped, greying, possibly used to be black, and his mustache was grey as well. He had sharp eyes and a stern jaw and Jeffrey got the feeling that he used to be military. The rumors of him being an ex-agent were beginning to feel more true.

" _Felix_?" Phil hissed over coms, sounding like he'd been thrown for a loop.

Jeffrey stood out of politeness, but did not hold out his hand.

"You must be...." He greeted, raising his eyebrow slightly as he trailed off. The man laughed as he pulled out the chair across from them and sat down, taking time to make himself comfortable.

"That's right. You're relatively new, aren't you?" He mused, almost as if he were speaking to a child. Jeffrey narrowed his eyes, but didn't let the small barb bother him. It wouldn't be great to get into an argument right off the bat. "Phil must've blacklisted all my records, huh? You don't recognize me at all?" He chuckled. "It used to be that Director's knew all about their best agents."

Jeffrey blinked, startled by this information, and not wanting to let it show.

"Felix Blake, at your service." Blake smirked, and it gave Jeffrey a slimy feeling. He turned his attention toward Daisy for a moment, and Jeffrey followed his hunch to slip his hand beneath the table to hold onto Daisy's. "Quake." Blake commented, his tone of voice indiscernible. It definitely wasn't positive, in any case.

"Skye." She returned, narrowing her eyes. "And I remember you." Blake chuckled lightly.

"Of course. Coulson's little dream team. That turned out well for you, didn't it?" He mused pointedly, and Daisy's hand clenched painfully around Jeffrey's knee. Jeffrey cleared his throat and gripped her hand a little more firmly, trying to get her to relax a little.

"How about a little wine, before we start World War Three?" Jeffrey considered. The table was silent for a beat, and then Blake laughed again, and relaxed against the back of his chair.

"Look at that, our first agreement of the evening!" He announced. "This is exciting." He gestured for the waiter to come by the table, and Jeffrey mentally steeled himself.

Here it goes.  
  


**———**

 

Blake hated Hydra almost - probably - worse than he hated aliens, and Jeffrey had managed to persuade him into helping them catch one of the remaining top leaders in the guise of a fake weapons deal. Blake, of course, wanted something in return.

"I can't believe they hired you." Blake curled his lip as he looked at Jeffrey with thinly-veiled disgust. "I suppose there's no chance you'll step down?"

Jeffrey raised his eyebrow. Phil muttered a few choice words over the coms line, but Jeffrey successfully didn't react to that.

"Of course." Blake sighed. "Well, if you insist on continuing to hire these freaks, they should have proper identification. Announce what they are, so people will know what it is that's supposedly 'protecting' them. Make the Index public information. _All_  of it."

"No way," Jeffrey immediately denied. "And announce to criminals," he gave Blake a pointed look, "detailed information on every piece of powerful equipment in SHIELD's possession? Absolutely not."

"Uniforms, tags, something to identify the Inhumans." Blake reasoned as if that made perfect sense.

"They have _rights_ ," Jeffrey pointed out incredulously, and Blake snorted.

"They're _alien_ ,"

"They - at least most of the ones on the Index list - are _American citizens_."

"They don't deserve that!" He hissed in return, at least careful to keep his voice down so they wouldn't cause a scene.

"Are you kidding?" Daisy wondered in disbelief at his entire thought process. Blake visibly relaxed, forcing himself to continue to appear calm though his eyes were alight with fury.

"They should have to reapply for citizenship. They are part _alien_."

"Why, so you can immediately deny them said application? Have an excuse to lock them up? To kill them?" Jeffrey pointed out. Blake didn't deny that. "Anyway, I have no say in those kinds of affairs."

"You're an Inhuman Director of the world's leading intelligence and defense agency. You have a hell of a lot of say. SHIELD hasn't changed _that_  much sense I've been around." Blake gave them both a long, searching look, before then nodding as if he'd come to a decision. "Fine then. I want Phil Coulson."

"Excuse me?" Jeffrey blurted, sharing a confused glance with Daisy. That seemed a little left-field.

"I want a meeting with Coulson. One-on-one. No agents hiding in the shadows, no secret cameras or wires or earpieces. Just me and him." Blake explained.

"What in the world for?" Daisy wondered.

"That's my own business." Blake returned, and then said more calmly, "We're old friends. I'd like to... catch up."

Jeffrey could only imagine the torture this guy would probably put Phil through.

"Over my dead body." Jeffrey hissed warningly. Blake blinked.

"That could be arranged."

"I'll do it." Phil announced over coms. Jeffrey immediately bristled, but couldn't get into an argument without revealing the com unit that Blake already suspected anyway. "I'll meet with him. I can handle Felix just fine."

"I..." Jeffrey clenched his jaw. "Seriously? You'll give us the Hydra operative in exchange for a meeting with Coulson?"

"You have my word." Blake nodded seriously. "And I don't back down from that. Even toward an enemy."

"It's true." Phil sighed. "He'll keep his end of the deal as long as we keep ours."

Jeffrey thought it over for another long minute. Deals with the devil never went well, and he'd known going in that he was going to have to make some hard decisions tonight - or nothing at all would happen. Or a big shootout would happen. But Phil? He didn't like the thought of losing his right-hand-man.

"Fine." Jeffrey agreed through clenched teeth. He was going to have a long talk with Phil about all of this beforehand, though. Blake's expression brightened considerably.

"Excellent." He looked around the room, searching for the waiter. "How about some more wine?"

Daisy and Jeffrey shared another look, their hands meeting beneath the table once more, each seeking comfort. Honestly this was much less of a threatening deal than what could have happened, but it hit a little too close to home. Still, to truly knock down Hydra good and hard, they really needed to catch this arms dealer. Anyway, perhaps being behind enemy lines could provide Phil opportunity to get more intel on The Watchdogs' operation.

Blake ordered a nice bottle of wine, then paid for the entire meal before the waiter stepped away.

"I imagine the next time we see one another it won't be under such... polite appearances." Blake mused. Once the waiter left to fetch the wine, Blake stood and carefully put his napkin at his empty place setting. "I will relish putting a bullet between your eyes." He murmured directly toward Jeffrey, in a tone as if he were providing salutations to an old friend. "And especially yours, as well." He said to Daisy.

He turned and walked away, and Daisy shifted as if to stand, but Jeffrey quickly wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held her in her chair, feigning a cuddle.

"I came here to take him out," Daisy glowered, "and instead we're handing over Coulson."

"And taking out a significant portion of Hydra in the process." Jeffrey pointed out.

"Trading one devil for the other." She shrugged, reaching for her wine glass to drink the rest of it.

"Has your company left for the evening?" The waiter wondered as he set down three new wine glasses and began to twist the cork out of the fresh bottle.

"He had a pressing matter to attend to," Jeffrey explained, nodding. "But suggested we stay to enjoy the wine ourselves."

The waiter nodded and poured them both a glass before then taking up the unused third one and the rest of the empty dishes on the table. Daisy and Jeffrey sat quietly for a long few minutes, enjoying the wine but their thoughts elsewhere.

"I'm going to join the crew outside, keep an eye on the building just in case any of Blake's men are lingering around." Phil announced gently. "We have a lot to discuss. Debriefing once we return to base."

"Yes, _Director_ ," Jeffrey muttered hotly, annoyed. Daisy raised her eyebrow.

"Coulson being pushy?" She figured, and he shook his head.

"He's leaving us alone, for the most part. Joining the rest of the team outside."

"A whole team? Wow," Daisy whistled quietly. "I just came by myself."

" _You_  are Quake, and can easily handle a handful of bad guys by yourself. _I'm_  the Director of SHIELD and require bodyguards even for the sake of the image." He rolled his eyes at that, and she smiled a little in amusement.

"It's funny the things you have to pretend to be, to make the public more comfortable. Society is really fucked up, you know?" She mused, and he nodded in complete agreement.

"Sometimes you get so used to a certain kind of song and dance, you can't remember what you're really like." He murmured. Daisy gave him a long look, and then her eyes darted down his body. He noticed, and focused his attention more directly toward her. Her eyes glinted, and she slowly shifted her legs to the side so that her knee pressed against his.

“Are you about to misbehave?” Jeffrey wondered slowly, watching as her eyes checked the people in the room and then the location of the kitchen door.

“Would you like me to?” Daisy twitched her eyebrow coyly, refocusing on him.

“…I haven't decided yet.” Jeffrey mused, a small smirk playing on his lips just before he drank from his glass of wine. Daisy grinned back, taking a drink as well.

"I've missed you." She admitted quietly, really looking at him now. It made him feel a little too warm, and he briefly tugged at the collar of his shirt. His tie suddenly felt too tight. "I didn't want to. I tried not to, even. But it didn't work."

"Yeah... I couldn't not miss you, either." Jeffrey said sadly, and then gave her a little smile.

".... We're not gonna give him Coulson, right?" She checked.

"No way in hell." Jeffrey promised vehemently, and she looked relieved. After a moment, he set his glass down onto the table. "What exactly happens now? Those pictures of us are probably online by now, and it's going to raise a shit-storm, especially with Talbot. Everyone is going to have opinions on us dating, and some of those opinions actually technically matter in a lot of ways."

"We're dating?" Daisy wondered, and Jeffrey gave her a dry look. She smiled, and took his hand, carding their fingers together before she then got to her feet and pushed her chair back to it's proper place. "Why don't you walk me outside to a cab, and see me off? I think that would probably be the most proper thing to do. That reporter guy has done well to hold off for so long but he's still sitting over there, and no doubt wants to see if he'll catch a goodbye kiss or something."

"I don't want to 'see you off'," Jeffrey muttered. "Not in any _proper_  sense, anyway."

Daisy's laugh was a little louder than she quite meant, and attracted some nearby attention. She tugged on his hand, and he stood as well, straightening his jacket before walking with her out of the restaurant.

"Maybe I'll pay the office a visit, see your digs." She mused as he held the door open for her. "And I know I'm not an agent but Coulson is incredibly important to me. I want to know what's happening as far as Blake's deal is concerned."

"It's a secure base, Daisy." Jeffrey pointed out dubiously. "Not to mention the three or four different security measures just between the hangar bay and my office door."

"I should probably mention," She replied, pausing to hail a cab before finishing, "that most-if-not-all of those security measures were created by me."

Jeffrey stared at her in amazement as a cab slowed and pulled alongside the curb.

"I'll be seeing you, Jeffrey Mace." She gave him a warm smile as she slid into the vehicle.

"Keep an eye out for my call." He told her as he closed the door for her, and she nodded. He gave her one last lingering look before he tapped the metal and stepped back, signaling that the driver could leave.

He couldn't deny that he was a little excited by the prospect of maybe getting a little taste of Daisy Johnson, Agent of SHIELD.  
  


**———**

 

"Out of all the people in this world... Quake? Really?" Two of his agents were finishing up their own late dinner in the kitchen when he tried to sneak his way by to the stairs that led to his office and quarters. Bobbi Morse was the one that had spoken, though her husband Hunter spoke up a little more supportively,

"She's gorgeous man. Kick-ass, too. Actually, I'm surprised that she digs you."

Maybe not quite so supportive. Jeffrey paused; although he was exhausted, he was curious about what they'd seen or heard.

"Let me guess: photos online?"

"Yep. You seem rather _close_." Hunter commented, and wiggled his eyebrows.

"She's messy, Mace." Bobbi pointed out warningly, and Jeffrey pressed his lips together. He respected Bobbi and valued her very highly, but she was still Level Red. "You're already shouldering enough shit, being Inhuman. You sure you want to deal with this, too?"

"Life is messy, Agent Morse." Jeffrey replied. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with dinner between friends. What did that reporter write, anyway?"

"She kissed you," Hunter pointed out, pulling his phone out and opening up the article he'd read, showing Jeffrey the photos.

"On the cheek." Jeffrey noted. "It's a normal European greeting!"

"She grew up half on the streets in New York." Bobbi pointed out, raising her eyebrow as she folded her arms across her chest. Jeffrey deflated, and pouted.

"You guys knew about her being an agent, too, huh." He complained. "And Phil being Director! Why the hell was this kept from me?" He wondered again, mostly rhetorical.

"Plausible deniability after she went a bit rogue. Also, you fanboy." Bobbi answered his question anyway.

"I do not fanboy!" He protested. Hunter pulled his phone back to swipe at the screen for a moment, and then held it back toward Jeffrey with a pointed expression.

It was a picture taken from the inside of the restaurant, through the window showing Jeffrey and Daisy smiling at one another as she sat inside the cab. He begrudgingly couldn't deny that their expressions were... fond.

"Hmph." He grumbled, and turned away to begin trudging up the stairs. "I'm going to bed."

"See you in the morning, sir." Bobbi replied.

"Have sweet dreams!" Hunter called lewdly, and Jeffrey heard Bobbi smack him. He smirked to himself. He liked them. They didn't always get along perfectly, but they made sure never to let it interfere with their work, and always managed to smooth things out even with the both of them being agents. In many ways, both good and not-so-good, they were inspiring.

Still, Jeffrey knew that Bobbi had good points about Daisy. Phil's comments earlier on were important to remember, too. Regardless of truth, people would twist perceptions of his relationship with Daisy, also regardless as to what that relationship actually was.

"Anyway, catching up with one another _once_  after months of no contact is barely even a friendship." He muttered rather depressingly to himself as he undressed in his quarters. His phone pinged a message, and he grabbed it from where he'd tossed it onto the bed.

_\- It was really good to see you, even if the circumstances sucked. that was a REALLY nice suit._

He smiled immediately, his chest warming as he read Daisy's words on the screen. He typed out a reply before he finished putting his pajamas on.

_\- Ditto. That was a pretty nice dress._

_\- Yeah, I bet you'd think it'd look nice on your floor, too, huh ;)_

_\- That's not what I meant!_   
_\- But also yes, maybe_

_\- Maybe?!_

_\- Probably?_

_\- Better, I suppose :)_   
_\- Speaking of, I'm going to do better about talking to you. I haven't done that enough._

_\- It does go both ways. I should have messaged you, too. For as many times as I've thought about you, I could've texted at least ONCE_

_\- Think about me often, have you?_

_\- Hard not to. You're in the news a lot these days._

_\- So are you. Looking so adorable and serious._

_\- Adorable?!_

_\- I watch you frowning at all these old fudgy politicians and I just remember the way you smile and moan around a big ol' bite of cheesy pizza_

_\- Hey, you said you'd keep that a secret!!_

_\- This is the first I've ever mentioned it, I swear_

_\- Good. Or else I'll tell everybody how ticklish you are._

_\- THEN you'd have to explain how you KNOW that information, smart-ass_

_\- .... Point taken._

Jeffrey grinned to himself as he settled in bed, texting away. He should probably go to sleep because there was a lot of work to do and discuss tomorrow morning (later this morning, technically with the hour), but he didn't want to stop talking to her.

_\- Pretty tired... you probably are, too. we should continue this conversation later._

Daisy was the one to eventually suggest calling it a night. Jeffrey agreed, but he didn't like the idea of just saying 'night' and leaving it at that.

_\- I wish you were here. I like the thought of falling asleep next to you._   
_\- Is that weird? I realize we've only slept together once. It's weird, isn't it?_

_\- Technically, twice._

He chuckled aloud at her response, comforted by it.

_\- And no, it's not weird. I wouldn't mind falling asleep cuddling with you. I've... thought about it._

_\- Have you?_

He was surprised that she admitted that.

_\- Often._

That, somewhat embarrassingly, went straight to his groin.

_\- Goodnight, Jeffrey. I promise to talk again soon. And keep me updated on PC situation?_

_\- Of course. I promise. Goodnight, Daisy._

After thinking quite a while about Daisy thinking about him, he fell asleep with a pleased smile on his face.

Felix Blake was going to be a handful to deal with, especially after they double-crossed him, but Jeffrey was confident that they could figure something out with Daisy's help. He'd do whatever he needed to get his team to trust her and bring her back in, even if only temporary.

Deeper down, in a space where he wasn't quite yet conscious of it, he had hope that Daisy's 'partnering' with SHIELD wouldn't just be temporary.

* * *

 


	6. Chapter 6

"What is it like, working so closely with a government agency now? Having to follow the rules?" The interviewer with the mustache asked her. Daisy wasn't quite sure if she liked his tone, but she answered him levelly.

"Who says that I follow the rules?" Daisy joked, and one of the female reporters jumped in,

"Are there SHIELD rules against fraternization? Are those the broken rules you're referring to?"

Daisy laughed softly.

"I thought I was here to talk about my work, not about my personal life."

"But aren't they one and the same? Interconnected?" The young woman pressed.

"Look," Daisy smiled gently. "I realize that my followers have jumped on this idea and seem really fond of it - but the Director and I are simply friends. We met at this event last year and got along very easily and happen to agree on a lot of ideals - maybe just not the execution of said ideals." She winked. "He's quite handsome, I'll give you that, but honestly - what superhero isn't? He's The Patriot!"

"Who's The Patriot?" Jeff appeared suddenly behind her chair, leaning over, and admittedly startled her.

"You-! I'd call you a name, but they're recording this." She scolded, but smiled up at him and gestured the empty chair next to her. "Join in! They're asking about us, anyway."

"I thought we were here to talk about work?" Jeff wondered as he settled into the seat. The four reporters seated around the other side of the round table all shifted excitedly, no doubt counting their good fortunes to be interviewing both Quake and The Patriot at the same time.

"First they want to understand how we could possibly only be friends." Daisy drawled, and Jeff grinned.

"Can I hear the question?" He requested, glancing around the table at each of them, not knowing who'd originally asked it.

"That was me. Working in your field, is it difficult to separate work and personal life? Aren't they interwoven?"

"It's the same as any other job," Jeffrey shrugged. "It could be easy to bring work issues home, and bring home problems to work, but just like anybody else, I do my best _not_  to do that." He glanced over at Daisy. "I imagine she does the same." Daisy nodded in agreement.

"So you _are_  just friends?" One of the other reporters spoke up dubiously. Jeffrey smiled.

"Any questions about the approved addendum? I think we're going to have to switch tables, soon." He asked instead of replying to that.

"Is this the same addendum you've been working on for the past year? The one that was announced to be put into movement at the last event here?"

"Yes," Jeffrey nodded. "With some updates and clarifications to make it's points clear. Honestly, I'm surprised that we aren't still having to fight for it! Don't get me wrong - I'm extremely happy that it's been approved. And a year _is_  a long time to wait, but the U.N. could've made things so much more difficult. I'm really happy that a majority of them were open to the changes."

"Ms. Johnson, you've openly spoken out against the Accords in their entirety for a long time. Do you still feel that way about them, or have you seen some positives come from their existence?"

"It's well-known that I've assisted SHIELD in some operations over the past year," Daisy began to answer thoughtfully, "and it's certainly been... eye opening. While I do believe the Accords are still too restrictive on all Inhumans in general, I can't deny that they have also helped catch a lot of bad people."

One of the event personnel came up to the table and set down a bunch of water bottles, and Daisy quietly thanked her as Jeff added a short answer of his own to the question. The importance of the Accords was an idea that he and Daisy didn't quite see eye-to-eye on, but they still respected one another's views.

Daisy watched with amusement as the four sitting around the table ate it up. They were fascinated by the idea that Daisy and Jeff could disagree and yet get along so well. It was a rare trait these days.

"I have a short list of fan questions I wondered if I could read out to you?" The youngest reporter piped up; he looked like he could still be in high school. "I have to warn you," He grimaced, "They're kind of... well, they aren't all focused on the Inhumans or the Accords."

Jeff let out a long-suffering sigh, but smiled and nodded. Daisy leaned back in her seat and gestured the reporter go on; it might be more fun to answer these with Jeff around, anyway.

“This one is for Daisy: what was your very first thought the first time you saw him face-to-face?” The young man read out first. "Sorry," He winced, "That was the first question. People are _really_  interested in your relation- friendship."

“Are we being honest, here?” Daisy glanced in Jeff's direction, and he shrugged and nodded, twisting the lid off of his bottle of water. “First thought? Okay,” Daisy leaned forward against the edge of the table and smirked, “My first thought was, ‘Daayyyum, he needs to wear jeans more often’!”

Jeff snorted and coughed on his mouthful of water, covering his mouth with his hand to avoid spewing it all over the various recorders and microphones on the table in front of them.

Daisy shrugged, lifting her eyebrows in an unapologetic gesture, and sat back in her seat. The interviewer laughed, and another passed a few napkins across to Jeff, who wiped droplets of water off of his lips and the table in front of him.

"Like I said, I can acknowledge handsomeness whilst still being friendly." Daisy pointed out.

"What about you?" The female reporter wondered, and glanced apologetically to the younger man with the list. He shrugged and gestured that he was curious about that, too.

"Me? I was..." Jeff looked a little embarrassed now, but kept his head up and answered honestly, "I was trying not to geek out. I mean, you know what she can do. And I've always admired her passion for standing up for Inhumans."

"Yeah, I gotta second that." Daisy piped up, earning a few raised eyebrows around the table. She shrugged and grinned, and then the same event employee that had provided them water came to the table again and told them it was time to shift tables.

"If you've got more on that list of yours," Jeff gestured toward the young boy as he got to his feet, "Take them over to my guy over there." Jeff pointed over to where Coulson was standing in the back of the room. "Tell him I sent you, and he'll take a look at them. Maybe I can answer a few more for you."

"Thank you, sir!" He returned hopefully, standing briefly as well and reaching to shake Jeff's hand gratefully.

"What's your name?" Jeff wondered curiously, amused when the young man continued to shake his hand for a moment.

"Oh, uh, Peter. I'm not really usually reporting like this," He explained quickly, tugging his hand back to himself. "I'm a photographer. Take pictures for the newspaper. But my friend got really sick from some bad food poisoning last night so I promised I'd be here to take her place."

"You're a good friend, Peter." Jeff told him, and Daisy smiled a little. She wondered if the boy reminded Jeff of his younger years. "I hope your friend feels better. Don't forget to go talk to Phil over there."

"Got it. Yes sir. Thanks again!"

“Seriously? My jeans?” Jeff murmured to Daisy, tilting close to her ear so he wouldn't be overheard as they walked over to the next table.

“Dude, if you only knew.” Daisy sighed, glancing down only briefly. She didn't want to get distracted. “I spent the whole next day at the con trying not to daydream about what those legs would feel like wrapped around me,”

“Hell, Daisy,” Jeff hissed, his cheeks tinging with red. “Don't you dare say that in front of the microphones,”

“Don't say what?” The young woman at the next table grinned, curious without pressing.

“Classified.” Daisy smiled widely, and the woman laughed. Daisy and Jeff settled across from her as she introduced herself and the web page she worked for.

"My first question is for more personal curiosity, but, what can you say about your chemistry with one another? It seems apparent to viewers from the get-go, but was it that way when you first met? Or did this take some work?" The interviewer gestured between them.

"This is what it's going to be like this year, huh?" Jeff noted with a sigh, and Daisy shrugged and nodded.

"Oh, he's a pain in the _ass_ ," Daisy drawled. "It's a ton of work." That earned laughs all around, and she grinned cheekily at Jeff's consternated expression.

"I honestly figured she'd hate me." Jeff shrugged almost lazily. "Assume that I was just another pawn representing The Man."

"Nah, no way." Daisy shook her head. "I mean, not gonna lie, I did think you were just another guy in a suit. But you proved me wrong pretty quickly."

"How much did your friendship influence your position on Inhuman rights?" Another interviewer wondered toward Jeff.

"In a broad sense, none." Jeff replied easily. "I've always believed Inhumans deserve the same rights as anyone else in this country. To say that Daisy's not an influence at all, though, is a lie. We are always influenced by our friends, are we not? She helps me see the bigger picture, when I get too bogged down on the nitty-gritty details."

"Speaking of the bigger picture, do you have any comments on the rising Watchdog threat to humans and Inhumans alike? Recently it's been noted quite often how SHIELD is taking down remnants of Hydra left and right, but what about the Watchdogs? Are you leaving those to local police forces to deal with?"

"Of course we're keeping a close eye on anyone who declares themselves an enemy against human - and Inhuman - rights. The Watchdogs certainly fit that category. And we always do our best to work as closely as possible with local law enforcement. That's about all I can say on the topic." Jeff answered.

"It's classified." Daisy put in succinctly, and winked. "SHIELD's favorite motto."

"Even after everything that had been released to the public after the fall of the Triskelion, how are you managing internally with that sort of information being out and about? We have had confirmation over the years that Tony Stark had managed to round up a lot of the supposedly dangerous information and re-classify it before the general populous could see any of it. Are you working side-by-side with the Avengers again?"

"For the safety of my agents and their families, of course we keep things under a lid. We're working all over the world to protect Earth from attacks both domestic and extraterrestrial. That said, the way we manage information internally has been changed - was changed even before I became Director - to better protect ourselves against something like the Hydra infiltration happening ever again. That cut into us deeply, for sure, but we learned from it and we rose above it." Jeff explained. "All that said - as grateful as I am for what Stark has done over the years, as stated publicly in the Accords he along with the rest of the individuals that signed it work underneath the supervision of the U.N. Not SHIELD."

"And you?" The first interviewer asked Daisy.

"I'm..." She glanced over at Jeff, who gave her small nod and a smile. Then she looked back at the woman that had asked the question, and announced aloud for the first time, "I am not officially an agent of SHIELD, but I take their advisement under account. We've made some agreements and I chose - under my own free will, by the way - to request permission before embarking on any kind of mission that will require use of my powers."

"Really?" One of the other reporters asked in surprise. "You?"

"Having the freedom to be myself is important. Do I wear a tracking device? No - and now thanks to the addendum neither do any of the other folks who've signed the Accords. Not unless they're already under house arrest. If I want to use my powers inside of my own home, to, say - I don't know - make my tub a jacuzzi? I can do that, and not have to worry about creepy men in dark suits breaking down my door to take me in." Her joke got some more laughter from the reporters. "I still do my own investigating into issues, separate from SHIELD. I still have my podcasts and I still speak my own mind - I don't represent SHIELD any more than SHIELD represents me. But occasionally, in some ways, we are partners." She looked at Jeff, and the pride in his eyes filled her with warmth.

"Partners? Would you say that's a deeper connection than friendship? What about - "

"We've got to get going," Coulson appeared out of nowhere, interrupted the question as he leaned down between Daisy and Jeff to speak into Jeff's ear. "Your conference call has been pushed ahead of schedule."

Jeff sighed and stood, giving an apologetic look toward the reporters.

"Sorry to cut this short. Duty calls." He explained. Daisy raised her eyebrow up at him, trying to silently portray to him that she didn't want to be left here to deal with their questions alone. Not when they were veering focus once again away from issues at hand and toward her personal life. "Daisy? I could use your input on this." He requested.

"Sure thing." She replied, trying not to leap to her feet with too much relief. "See you all later." She said goodbye to the reporters and followed Jeff and Coulson through the room and out the door to the hallway.

"Why was it pushed ahead?" Jeff asked Coulson. "Has something come up?" Daisy didn't even know who the conference call was with, or if it was even really a conference call and not just a cover for something else.

"President Ellis had an opening in his schedule freed up and wanted to have the conversation sooner rather than later. Talbot is already standing by." Coulson replied.

"Of course he wouldn't miss this." Jeff glowered. "Probably looking forward to me getting my ass handed to me."

"What? Why?" Daisy asked curiously. Jeff shook his head.

"I'll tell you in the car. Not something to talk about here." He gestured around the somewhat crowded convention center around them. She nodded, and then he looked thoughtful before he stepped closer to her, speaking lowly, "Can you really turn your tub into a jacuzzi?" He wondered. Daisy grinned.

"Wanna come to my hotel room and find out?" She teased saucily. He smiled slowly, but Coulson spoke up before Jeff could.

"I can hear you right now, you know."

"Hm, maybe after this meeting?" Jeff decided calmly, ignoring Coulson for the most part though he did keep his tone relatively innocent.

"Sure thing. You'll probably need help relaxing after the stress of dealing with the President and Talbot, anyway. My powers are great for that, too, you know." She winked and nudged Jeff with her elbow, and his smile widened.

" _I can still hear you_." Coulson pointed out a little more forcefully.

They both smirked, but put their teasing on hold as they followed him out of the building and to Jeff's SUV.

**———**

 

> _**@SHIELDDirectorMace** : all work and no play make Mace a dull boy [show media]_

   

> _**@Quake101** : If you continue to keep it a secret where you got this shirt, I'm just gonna steal yours. #supersoft_

 

> _**@SHIELDDirectorMace** : @Quake101 Good luck with that, now that you've announced your plan to the world._

  

> _**@MackHammer** : Wait, since when do we have a garden? And since when did you garden? And how in the world is that considered "play"???_

 

> _**@BrigGenTalbot** : Gardening is extremely relaxing._

  

> _**@MackHammer** : @BrigGenTalbot ....._

 

> _**@Quake101** : @BrigGenTalbot ?????_

  

> _**@SHIELDDirectorMace** : @BrigGenTalbot :O_

  
A week later, Daisy posted a picture of her fist clenched around Jeffrey's green henley, hoisting it proudly into the air. Her attached comment was simply three trophy emojis. Her followers ate it up, some congratulating her, some of them chastised her for taking the only thing he owned outside of a suit (which he replied an indignant negative to), and many commented about how the two of them were 'too cute'. In private, Daisy often teased Jeffrey for being too cute, though she refused to tell him where she was keeping his shirt.

Oddly enough, their fans started a campaign of #GiveBackTheShirt vs #KeepTheShirt. It was innocent and kind of sweet, so they figured they could play it up a little to at least give people some entertainment between all of the business, politics, and vague declassified discussions. There were plenty who thought it was unprofessional, but Jeffrey wasn't about to become some stuffy political robot.

  

> _**@Quake101** : Just beat my own high score on Galaga. This thing is my good luck charm. He's never getting it back now. #KeepTheShirt [show media]_

  

> _**@MackHammer** : Told you fixing up that old machine wasn't a waste of time._

> _**@cheese** : Agreed. Good use of resources._

  

> _**@Quake101** : See, I can't quite tell if you're being sarcastic @cheese ..._

  

> _**@MackHammer** : That's his secret. He's always sarcastic._

 

> _**@SHIELDDirectorMace** : If I beat your new high score #GiveBackTheShirt_

 

> _**@Quake101** : @SHIELDDirectorMace oh you are so on hahaha_

  

> _**@cheese** : @SHIELDDirectorMace Horrible idea. You'll never beat her._

  
It took a couple of days, but Jeffrey was very proud to have Phil take his photo of him wearing his shirt again. He stood proudly with his arms folded across his chest, while Daisy pouted beside him. He'd only just barely beaten her high score, but the deal had been made.

Unbeknownst to Jeffrey, Phil had taken more than one photo, and Jeffrey came across the others when he went to post the results of the game on his social media. He decided to post a different one than his original photo, because Daisy's expression in it was simply too beautiful. She was behind him, her arms wrapped around his torso in a hug and her chin resting on his shoulder, a big laughing smile on her face. His expression was joyful but mildly sheepish, and he wished he could remember what had happened during this particular shot. His own hands were resting against hers, holding her hands against his chest, and it was simply a very fond moment. Perhaps too fond, but, he'd already decided.

  

> _**@SHIELDDirectorMace** : I win. #GiveBackTheShirt [show media]_

  

> _**@quakeandthepatriot** : I'll say. Got your shirt back AND your woman's arms around you. Nice job, Director. What was the final score???_

  

> _**@SHIELDDirectorMace** : Thanks, though @Quake101 is definitely her own woman. 340,000 < 340,010. I got too excited about beating her and immediately died afterwards haha. She'll probably come back and take top score again, but, there's no way I'm betting my shirt against that._

 

> _**@Quake101** : This picture is my favorite. (Also, I demand a rematch.)_

  

> _**@SHIELDDirectorMace** : @Quake101 sorry, but I'll take my win while I've got it._

 

> _**@cheese** : @SHIELDDirectorMace smart choice. oh and sorry for doubting you. honestly I'm still not sure how you did manage to beat her._

 

> _**@SHIELDDirectorMace** : @cheese 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will, 5% pleasure and 50% pain. 100% reason to remember the name!_

 

> _**@Quake101** : @SHIELDDirectorMace DORK._

  
Jeffrey made a point to wear the shirt at their third annual convention. By this point, as well, he was tired of hiding the truth of how he felt about Daisy. He'd discussed it with her, and with Phil and Mack and Joey and Elena, and they all agreed that it might as well become legitimately official. A majority of the public long ago assumed Jeffrey and Daisy were already together and simply covering it up. Some people, as expected, had some heavy words to say about it, but for the most part people accepted it without rousing up trouble. So, Jeffrey and Daisy decided that the next time it was mentioned in an interview, they would simply stop denying it.

The first event that they had time to attend was a part of a larger panel located inside of a big hall room filled with all kinds of people, from political members to reporters to casual fans of superheroes. Jeffrey and Daisy were sitting with a few other Inhumans that had become larger voices in the rights campaign, symbols of hope in their various communities. The questions from the mediator and the crowd were focused and concise almost until the end of the panel, until one lone person stood up and shouted loudly enough to be heard by much of the crowd. There were groans of complaint and cheers as well, and Jeffrey glanced over at the young doctor he was sitting next to.

"Did you hear what they said? I didn't catch it."

"I think it was 'kiss'." The blond Aussie replied, leaning forward and squinting to try and see better into the crowd. Jeffrey nodded slowly and settled back into his seat, before turning to look at Daisy on his other side.

"I think," He started, but then the chant began spreading and he knew for sure that it had been 'kiss' that had been yelled. Daisy laughed and shook her head at them as if the crowd was being silly. Their encouragements didn't die down, however, and as Jeffrey glanced toward the rest of the panel he realized that every single one of them were looking at him and Daisy as if to say 'well, get on with it then'. "Traitors!" He said into the mic toward his fellow panel-mates, and a ripple of laughter went into the crowd. It didn't deter their fixation, however.

"C'mon, do it!" Someone shouted, rousing up another cheer in support.

"You guys really are fixated on this, aren't you? I thought we were past this!" Daisy wondered, teasing. She looked at Jeffrey and shrugged, and he swallowed down his resolve. He grinned and shrugged as well, and tilted closer to her. She immediately followed suit and met him halfway, giving him a reasonably affectionate but brief kiss on the lips.

The crowd immediately cheered, and the two of them settled back into their chairs, still more-or-less playing it off as casual. Jeffrey licked his lips nervously, feeling a little giddy. That had probably been the most tame kiss they'd ever shared, but still, it had been in front of over a hundred people. More, online, once it inevitably got posted.

"Kiss her like you mean it!" Someone down at the end of the table cat-called into their microphone; Jeffrey wasn't sure if it had been the teenaged boy named Flint or the one a few years older named Donnie. Either way, he narrowed his eyes in that direction, leaning over the table to do so.

The crowd, having clearly heard this suggestion, began cheering in agreement again. Before Jeffrey could react in any other way, Daisy took advantage of his leaning in her direction and grabbed onto the front of his shirt with both hands, tugging him half over her into her chair. She kissed him deeply as he caught himself with a hand on the edge of the table, but his other hand quickly drifted up into her hair as she kissed him enough to make him forget about their audience.

Eventually he realized that this was probably verging on inappropriate. He pried himself away with a gasp of air, and sort of fell back into his seat, his brain swirling to try to catch up with everything. The crowd was whistling and clapping again, and the mediator in charge was smoothly wrapping up the event, calming them down more or less and thanking them for attending.

"Any last words?" He asked the table, and they all glanced at one another and shrugged, shaking their heads. "How about you, Director?" He asked with a smirk, and Jeffrey blinked, licking his lips again. He still tasted Daisy against his mouth.

"Wow." He said, garnering some laughter and more clapping from the crowd.

Soon they were all shuffling backstage, shaking one another's hands and chatting together, as this had been the first time most of them had met one another.

"That was some kiss." Lincoln mused toward Daisy, and she grinned widely as she looked at Jeffrey.

"Thanks. I've had practice." She replied. Lincoln laughed and shook his head at them, shaking Jeffrey's hand before walking away.

"Let's get out of here," Jeffrey requested quietly, sliding his hand into hers and stepping close to her.

"We have autograph signings next, Jeff. You love meeting your fans." She pointed out, though she tangled their fingers together instead of pulling her hand away.

" _They_  wanted this! They have to deal with the consequences." He told her, and she raised her eyebrow coyly.

"Consequences? What consequences?" She wondered, and smirked a little as she leaned her upper body against his and trailed her free hand down the front of his trousers, squeezing him when she found the state of his arousal. "Oh, _these_  consequences." She mused, massaging her grip slowly. He inhaled shakily as his brain quickly clouded even further, his blood rushing southward. “I don’t mind the consequences at all.” She said in an innocent tone of voice.

“Daisy,” He muttered quietly, a half-moan, and glanced around to make sure the others were already gone. She maneuvered her hands toward the front of his shirt again and gripped the fabric as she stepped back further into the shadows, bringing him with her.

“I want to kiss you in public all the time,” She admitted quickly against his mouth, as he kissed her and she focused on lifting the bottom of her dress. His hands fumbled with his belt and trousers, pushing the outer garment out of the way. “It’s so _exciting_ ,” She breathed, lifting her knee up against his hip. He reached down to hold her beneath her thighs as he hoisted her up, and she wrapped her legs around him, chuckling quietly as he pressed her between himself and the wall.

“If someone ever told me I’d be dry-humping Daisy Johnson backstage of an Inhuman conference, I’d think they were delusional.” He breathed against her neck as he shifted his body against hers. She answered by wrapping her arms more securely around his shoulders and kissing the side of his head where she could reach.

“If someone had ever said The Patriot would push me up against the wall and have his way with me, I’d think I was dreaming!” She returned with a laugh, and he lifted his head from her neck to look at her curiously.

“You’ve dreamt of me?”

“The Patriot.” She clarified. “It’s different, it’s - ” He interrupted her by kissing her deeply, and she smiled against his mouth and kissed him back wholeheartedly.

**———**

 

Two days later, it was a spontaneous decision to do their fan photos together, but the attendees all appeared to be excited about the change. Jeffrey “dressed down” in a button-up and jeans, and Daisy wore skin-tight black jeans and a leather jacket with an old classic rock band tee. It was Jeffrey’s, which made him inordinately happy. Phil was probably the only one that suspected it.

They met people in all kinds of different costumes, now that more and more Inhumans were getting public recognition. Everyone had their favorite “home-town hero”, and it wasn’t just big names like Steve Rogers or Luke Cage anymore. There were still those who dressed as The Patriot and as Quake, too, which Jeffrey still found humbling even after having come to terms with his new life over the past few years.

“That is so cool!” Daisy exclaimed, and grabbed Jeffrey’s arm to make sure she had his attention. “Look at her gauntlets!”

The young woman smiled shyly, though clearly pleased that Daisy liked her costume, and held her fist out in Jeffrey’s direction.

“Those are awesome.” Jeffrey agreed wholeheartedly. He couldn’t imagine thinking up all the different ways people have created their own gauntlets. It really did amaze him; and it went the same with folks who recreated Patriot armor, too.

“Do you mind holding this in the photo?” The young lady felt brave enough to request, and stepped to the side to pick up a small poster board that had been leaning against the wall. On the front had been spray painted in a classically rebellious design, “Quake is my hero”.

Jeffrey laughed and nodded, taking the sign from her and holding it up in both hands about chest level, giving the camera a serious expression. She posed as if she were Quaking the photographer, and Daisy stood proudly beside her.

“Thanks so much!” The fan announced once the photographer was finished, and took her sign back from Jeffrey before practically bouncing away.

“Aww, I’m your hero?” Daisy teased, taking the moment between photos to lean in close and tease Jeffrey. He gave her a soft, lingering look, and her teasing smile slowly drifted into an adoring one.

“In many ways.” He admitted honestly, completely changing the tone of their conversation. Before Daisy could think of how to appropriately reply in the given venue, Jeffrey glanced behind him to check who was up next. Recognizing the couple, he smiled nervously and nodded, briefly sliding his palms against his jeans.

“Remember us?” The man asked as he and his wife stepped into the photo area, and Jeffrey’s answering smile and nod was easier and more relaxed.

“Of course. How’s married life treating you two?” He asked them, shaking both of their hands fondly.

“It’s great. She’s the best.” He immediately answered, looking at his wife with total adoration. A few people standing nearby in line ‘aww’d’ at them.

“We ended up getting engaged the last time we were able to do this photo event with The Patriot,” The woman explained to Daisy’s questioning look. “I mean, Director Mace.”

“Yeah, ‘The Patriot’ in everyday conversation is a little much for my taste,” Jeffrey half-grinned, and Daisy rolled her eyes.

“Like you don’t polish your armor every night.”

“That’s about having solid, dependable equipment!” He protested. “You always make sure your gauntlets are clean after a mission, do you not?”

“That’s... okay.” Daisy huffed. “Let’s not waste this lovely couple’s time, huh?”

“Right.” Jeffrey turned toward the young man, and they shared a look before the young man asked,

“Can my wife and I reenact the proposal? I realize I didn’t exactly get on one knee or anything, but if I posed and you two were reacting to it?” He requested of Daisy and Jeffrey, and Jeffrey looked over to see Daisy’s reaction. She immediately grinned widely and nodded.

“Yessss that would be cute!” She crowed.

Jeffrey’s pulse raced a little faster, but he quickly tried to remember the calming exercises Phil had shown him. With Daisy’s powers, she would notice if he started to get too nervous.

“Ah!” The young man realized, “But I don’t have a box! That would show up on the camera so much better than just the ring by itself...” He frowned thoughtfully, and Jeffrey licked his lips and breathed deeply before he reached into his pocket and tugged out the light weight that he’d been very aware of from the moment he’d hidden it away this morning.

“I have one.” Jeffrey commented, proud of himself for sounding so nonchalant. The young couple smiled a little to him, and then over at Daisy. She looked surprised, and then confused.

“Why are you carrying around a ring box?” She wondered.

“Because it has a ring in it.” He replied, facing her fully, squaring his shoulders, and then slowly crouching down to one knee.

“Oh my God.” Daisy realized, her eyes widening. Jeffrey lifted the box up a little, and then opened it for her, still as a statue because he was so terrified. He knew ‘settling down’ wasn’t exactly her thing, and he didn’t want her to feel trapped anywhere. But she hadn’t ever said anything directly against marriage, so....

“I love you, and admire you, with every fiber of my being." He told her seriously. "You are beautiful and inspiring and challenging. We don’t always agree,” He wryly smirked, thinking of a debate they’d had just last night, “but I don’t expect us to. I wouldn’t _want_  us to. I love hearing your thoughts, being able to have a glimpse into the way you see the world. I’d love to have that opportunity for the rest of my life. I would be incredibly honored to be able to watch you on the news, saving the world, and tell people ‘I get to be her husband’.” He paused, and swallowed. He’d been planning on saying something kind of silly and simple, not this huge declaration. His heart pounded in his chest and he knew that Daisy could hear it.

“Oh my _God_.” She repeated, looking at him like she wasn’t sure that he wasn’t some kind of imposter. He understood that look; an amusing inside joke would’ve been much more like him.

Everything was silent in the room as they stared at one another, at least until the young man elbowed Jeffrey’s shoulder.

“ _Ask_  her,” He reminded in a stage-whisper.

“Right. Yeah.” He took a settling breath. “Daisy Johnson? Will you marry me?” She blinked down at him, her mouth hanging open in surprised silence. He blinked back, and tried not to panic.

“You planned this?” She noted slowly, gesturing toward the young couple without looking away from him. He nodded. “And you bought a ring?”

“Well, I didn’t steal it.” He quipped, growing hesitantly hopeful when she stepped closer. With a curious expression, she reached out to gently touch the simple silver band, her brow furrowing more as she slid her finger over the inset square, where a small stone was set. It wasn't large or shiny but he'd spent months trying to design the perfect ring for her. He wanted her to feel comfortable to wear it no matter what she was doing - even as Quake.

“That’s weird,” She began distractedly, and there was a blurt of uncomfortable laughter from somebody in the line of fans. Daisy picked up the ring and held it flat in her palm. “I’m barely getting anything from it.” She finished her thought, still ignoring their audience.

“I didn’t exactly get it from a store...” Jeffrey explained, and he wasn’t sure why it sounded like he was apologizing. He cleared his throat and added normally, “I had it made.” Daisy’s eyes jerked from the ring to meet his eyes. “So it won’t interfere with your powers. And it’ll withstand them.”

“That’s... amazing!”

“Sooo... you like it?” He asked carefully, slowly standing back up on both feet.

“Oh,” She snorted and gripped the ring in her fist, and reached for him, babbling quickly, “Yes I like it. I love it! I love you. Yes!” She threw her arms around his neck, tucking her chin over his shoulder, and his hands went to her waist automatically out of habit.

“Yes?” He wanted to make sure, his mind reeling. Her grip around him tightened, and he felt her nod.

“Yes!” She assured him.

Overjoyed, he lifted her in his arms and spun her around, tucking his face against her neck so no one would see his tears. He’d never felt this happy before in his life. Daisy laughed and pushed one hand into his hair, gripping the strands so she could guide his head back and touch her forehead against his. They were both smiling too much to kiss.

“Put it on!” Somebody called out, amused by them, and Jeffrey finally regained his focus on the rest of the room around them.

He set Daisy back onto her feet, hurriedly wiping his hand down his face before reaching for Daisy’s hand. They both watched as he slipped the ring onto her left finger, the weight of the moment not lost on either of them. It was a glorious thing, but they knew it would come with plenty of questions and maybe even a few investigations from the government and public alike. Daisy squeezed his hand firmly, encouragingly, and he twisted their hands to more comfortably return the gesture.

“I can’t believe they haven’t kissed yet.” A guy commented loudly in a bored tone, and Jeffrey glanced over his shoulder, recognizing the voice. He raised his eyebrow at Phil, who only chuckled and grinned, giving him a shrug before folding his arms over his chest.

Chants for them to kiss rose up for the second time this weekend, but this time Jeffrey didn’t hesitate before he cradled Daisy’s face in his hands and kissed her with soft intent. His lips passed over hers in one, slow stroke that allowed her the opportunity to apply a little pressure in return before he pulled away. He nuzzled his nose against hers, once again smiling widely.

"I love you." He whispered, the cheering crowd behind him far too loud for anyone other than Daisy to have heard him.

"I love you, too." She whispered back, smiling as well.

They probably just caused a shit-storm for Talbot, and the both of them couldn’t be happier about it.

* * *

 


End file.
